


Days of Glory

by Gobletmoonstone123



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: 19 year old Eren, F/M, M/M, Multi, Rock Band AU, Slow Burn, There's Farlan Levi mention, Zeke is the main antagonist, love to hate ereriren
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-15 08:02:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 10
Words: 29,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29680899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gobletmoonstone123/pseuds/Gobletmoonstone123
Summary: For 10 years the band No Name has had worldwide recognition and success but now that the leader of the band is very exhausted, they need to find a replacement as soon as possible.Eren Jaeger, son of famous former Opera singer Carla Magnolia and eccentric veterinarian Grisha Jaeger, is educated at the strict classical music school as well as knowing how to play bass and guitar. For reasons of fate, Hange Zoe, the bassist of No Name, comes across his YouTube channel and decides to convince him to go to Stohess to audition.What will come from now on for Eren will be a whirlwind of strong emotions, confrontation and rivalries.
Relationships: Armin Arlert/Annie Leonhart, Bertolt Hoover/Annie Leonhart, Levi Ackerman & Eren Yeager, Levi Ackerman & Furlan Church, Marie/Erwin Smith, Mikasa Ackerman/Jean Kirstein, Moblit Berner/Hange Zoë, Nanaba/Mike Zacharias
Kudos: 7





	1. Here we go Again

**Author's Note:**

> -The characters are from Hajime Isayama and although some may be OOC, they are for the purpose of the story I want to tell.
> 
> -The Eren of this fic is based on that of the current manga, with long hair, a beard and something more sarcastic or an attempt at it. A little drier in attitude but without neglecting his adventurous spirit of going out into the world.
> 
> This fanfic is beta read in spanish and its of my total idea to translate it. Hope it works and you get to understand the message.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://archiveofourown.org/works/17853392/chapters/42130112 ORIGINAL LINK to my spanish fanfic where Eren auditions for No Name as a new guitarrist.   
>  Translation made by me .

The lights constantly changed color, reflecting the atmosphere of the song playing at that moment in the stadium thanks to the soft sound of the bass and the melodious voice of the singer leading the band. It was a beautiful night despite the latent summer heat at that time and the screams of girls crying for the vocalist as well as the fury for the band in general was not long in coming.

The majority chanted the songs harmoniously, others shouted the lyrics of emotion while some raised banners and flags of the band or just their idol to whom they did not stop shouting that they loved him, some had even brought panties to throw at him while the heads of Security looked with disgust at the girls who were in the front row, wishing with all their being that the concert would end soon because of that excessive fury and the enormous work it represented.

At the end of the concert, the first thing he asked for was a Coke-Cola to get rid of himself since his manager had forbidden him to drink alcohol or smoke as an agreement to the deal. To tell the truth, Erwin Smith had done a great job helping him sober up for half the tour and he hoped he would be until the end of the contract but inside Levi was itching to get into vices again and was finding it increasingly difficult to stay clean. ; He had no choice but to vent his frustration on drills and punching bags, he often practiced with Mike and Gunther who gave him a fair fight, sometimes Mike beating him in wrestling by almost hanging him or taking him by surprise.

"We'd better find a replacement for the guitar," he began one day chatting with Smith on a break before the concert in Sina that night.Smith looked at him puzzled asking him what was wrong to which the other replied:"I can't move or jump on stage with guitar in hand, not all the time." Before this, the blonde maintained a neutral position looking at his coffee as if nothing around him existed. They were silent for a few seconds which was quickly replaced with a hint of impatience from the other. 

"I'm not going to play any more guitar, hire someone or we'll just have Hange as bassist by herself -" he said disinterestedly sipping his black tea. Erwin knew that sooner or later Levi would end up doing his bidding so forcing him or convincing him wasn't going to do much good, not at this point.

"We will call an audition to see who will be the new guitarist then."

When he needed to relax he would play a little guitar and even write poems or read a book when he was alone, he even drew between trips on tour and other things but deep down he felt that jumping on stage with guitar in hand was making him hard. and they would have to hire a new guitarist sooner or later.

"Good" - he crossed his arms maintaining the same impassiveness with which he had been speaking lately but inside he was boiling with emotion and he did not know why.

* * *

He turned on the stereo by turning up the volume, taking advantage of the fact that his mother had gone shopping and that she would not return until late at night. He checked that the cables were connected in place, the camera was on recording at the height of his hands that was exactly what he wanted to show once he had finished the cover to edit it and upload it to his YouTube channel. He hit the button on his computer and immediately began to move his fingers as fast as he could to the song "The sound of Truth" by the band As I lay dying. He had already practiced this song several times before uploading the cover, once he finished recording and observing that the movement of the fingers was on time with the rhythm of the song and that only his hands were shown as he wanted, he smiled satisfied as he finish editing the final touches and upload the video to his channel which would take at least an hour to be ready since the internet was fast at home. 

* * *

The audition for the new guitarist of the band was not long in coming as Hange, Levi, Mike and Erwin watched countless very good guitarists pass one after another who came with their typical long-haired metalhead look and tattoos, other punks with not so long hair and piercings and the typical black shirts with an anarchism slogan, from a classic band like Guns and Roses, Metallica, Megadeath, among many others, but nobody on the jury table ended up liking them. 

"They are all so common that I get bored," Levi said after that day of auditions, which in his case did not leave him fascinated.

"Hamsel was very good, that boy did play with enthusiasm and he also did it very well, I don't understand why you didn't choose him" - Hange snapped, she was drowing a strange doodle of a boy with long black hair. 

"It was because he made too many gestures with his face while he played and, incidentally, he moved his head every moment." 

"It's part of feeling the music Levi, you did the same when we started in the band, don't screw me" - she stubbornly hit the table making Mike, Erwin and the aforementioned look at her in surprise. 

"What's wrong with four eyes, did you have indigestion or what?" , Levi snapped obscenely. 

"The question here should be what happens to you criticizing everyone when you are not even able to run and jump across the stage like 10 years ago, you are too much of a hater and you do not recognize it."

There was a tense silence at the table that was impossible for the production staff to ignore but for fear of Levi's viper tongue they did not dare to break it. It was just the first day of auditions and they were already fighting like cats and dogs again. Erwin sighed tiredly wishing that the right person would arrive in a short time to replace Levi because if things were not the way they were, off-stage the situation could become very uncomfortable. 

* * *

  
Carla Jaeger finished saying goodbye to the last student who was leaving to close the door behind her and head towards the parking lot. It had been a pleasant class with some girls and boys who were more outstanding than others, as she could see since the vocal quality of some was tremendously superior to that of the rest. Although for the university choir they should all be in unison singing in harmony, it was difficult forher not to feel a preference for Zaira, Sage and Robert, who of that class had a privileged voice, which caused conflict with their ethics of non-preference over any other pupil.

That day she had gone alone to give singing lessons because the rector did not ask him to do the paperwork for the kind of laws he used to dictate.

She had long since retired from stardom when she left her career as an Opera singer and a special guest to also play in the Stohess Orchestra, Utgard and if possible in the Paris Symphony Orchestra when she was much younger. Her privileged voice, although due to the ailments of pregnancy, had diminished over time, she had not lost its special touch despite the years for which the rector of the University of Shingashina Dot Pixis had asked her to teach singing classes at his faculty. And in order not to lose the habit, she accept immediately because although it is true that being a mother requires changing your scheme and schedule of life for a little one, Carla Magnolia never completely left music despite getting married and adopting the surname of her husband Grisha Jaeger or to teach his young son the benefits of classical music to the point of insisting that he play an instrument. As she drove to the market they played Dmitri Schostakowitsch's “Second Waltz” on the stereo and she remembered the first time he took Eren who was then 5 years old to audition for the orchestra. The image of those veteran musicians playing slowly thanks to the director hypnotized him immediately and he knew that although he could not succeed the first time, he would end up insisting until he was in the children's orchestra sooner or later. 

* * *

In Stohess things were tense for the team who had already held 3 auditions and did not want to continue, the judges took notes but did not feel convinced.

"Ok that's enough," Levi said as he got up from his seat. "Where are you going? "- Asked Mike

"To the bathroom," he answered without further ado as he rolled his eyes and left the room. "This will take longer than we think," Mike sighed. 

"I'm going to get a soda," Hange said, getting up from his seat. Mike was left alone with Erwin who took a call while he made a note of something in his notebook. "Got it, thank you,"- he hung up the call. 

"It smells suspicious from here, is there a problem you didn't want to tell us about?" He asked with an accusing face while Erwin kept his impassive face looking at his phone. "Not at all," he denied.

"Ha! Don't make me laugh you know that whenever you say that something bad happens, go tell me now, I demand." 

Erwin knew that if he said what was happening right now it would probably not come to pass later and even though he couldn't stand himself he left the seat taking his things to go smoke a cigarette while Mike kept insisting that he tell him to come in.

In the hallway they ran into Hange who was watching a video on Yotube and when she saw them she came to tell them excitedly: "I think we've got the new guitarist" - she showed them the video of the boy playing just showing his hands, being hypnotized by the screen until he finished the cover of something more than 6 minutes without saying anything.

"And good? What do you think? " - Hange said enthusiastically. Neither Mike nor Erwin knew where to start as the boy was very good but realistically they did not know where he came from, there were many who played as well as him and were being entered on a preliminary audition list.

"It's pretty fast and good, very good I must say" - Erwin began.

"Yes it's good but"--- Mike was interrupted by Hange.

"He also covers the bass, not only plays guitar" - she said excitedly.

"Hange you play the bass" - they said in unison.

"I know silly, but it is versatile, also if you look at his videos on YouTube"- she said showing the channel that had many covers of guitar and bass, passing some with cello--"you will realize that he has training in classical music."

Erwin clicked on a video where he played the cello paying homage to Bach

"Impressive, right?" - She said satisfied while Mike watched the video absorbed.

"This is in the Shingashina theater "- said Erwin, observing closely-" I remember that 10 years ago there was no theater except for the main hall of Shingashina University where…" - Suddenly his mind lit up.

"Eren Jaeger is the boy's name" - Mike said looking at the name of the channel.

"Yes, he has an excellent command of cello, guitar and bass. We should write to him and ask if he dares to audition for us"- Hange said enthusiastically.

"He lives in Shingashina," Erwin reminded him dryly, "we are in Stohess."

"Surely there are trains that can bring him here" - she mention enthusiastically.

"Sure, but it is very far and the passage by express train is very expensive, I understand."

"Erwin, man, don't be a killjoy. Let Hange work her magic and bring the boy to audition, it sure doesn't hurt", said Mike putting a hand on his shoulder.

"And with what are you going to pay the passage and the stay? Stohess is expensive and we cannot afford to pay for a five star hotel."

"Ehm Erwin, I'll take care of it" - Hange said - "he stays with me and I'll make him dinner."

"We have to discuss it in a group, we also know how Levi is."

Just at that moment the aforementioned made an appearance.

"Know what? What do you have in mind?""

"Don't be rude Levi, we found a potential guitarist who also plays bass and has an academic background in classical music." 

"What? Seriously?" - He said while Hange showed him the boy's YouTube channel. Levi grabbed the phone and watched several videos fast-forwarding to a certain point and then back to the beginning.

"And, what do you think?"

"Humm"

"Is that a yes or a no?"

"Tsk"

Mike intervened excitedly."We try to make him come to Stohess to audition or that's what Hange wants."

"And where is he from?"

"From Shingashina," Erwin interrupted.

"No way, that's far." 

Hange, fed up with the refusal, stood in front of everyone with a serious face.

"Well, look, far away and everything, but if I can get him to come and play as well as he does in the video, you will have to give him space in our band because the people here are not very good and we are not going to go from district to district looking for guitarists when we put the tour on hiatus."

"Hange's right," Mike began.

"Well, Hange, but our staff has been in charge of bringing here different people from different districts and none of them play very well. We also don't know if that boy wants to cover as a hobby and this is full work, going on tour, traveling to other countries. Not many can keep up with the band." 

"Stop being so negative and leave this in my hands that although we still haven't found a guitarist, I can discern who knows how to carry the melody with me and I assure you that very few in that room managed to do it well." 

"Let's do something for the good of the band"- Erwin intervened feeling the tension of the group- "Hange write him convincing the boy to come to Stohess to audition and if everything goes well from then on we will see."

Mike snorted angrily but Hange wasted no time snatching the cell phone from Levi's hands and immediately began typing.

* * *

Eren was busy finishing cleaning his room when a notification came on the phone. For some reason, he left the covers that he kept on top of his closet to go see it, which he never did since it was to leave the cell phone in one place and not check it again for days. Most of the time he was playing on the Wii or Xbox and playing guitar instead. He unlocked the phone and to his surprise the Yotube app came out with a notification. It had been a long time since she had received any comments so he slipped into the inbox with a strange message from a certain Hange Zoe. 

"Hange Zoe," he said quietly, checking the message. He had heard that name long ago but did not remember where from. He began to read the message and for some reason as the reading progressed his heart was racing until he reached the end of the reading. He put his phone aside, turned on his personal computer and looked for Hange Zoe's name on safari then his mind clicked and he realized that it was the same girl from the band "No Name", a band from his childhood that he went to see. in concert 10 years ago when he was still a child and it was with his brother at that time, Zeke. "Now I understand everything." Just at that moment another notification rang and he grabbed the cell phone as soon as possible to answer. His heart was pounding and he didn't like that feeling at all. What if it was a bad joke? He had heard horrible stories of fraud and the truth was he was not so sure he wanted to go along with it but the girl was insistent. @HanZoe: So will you come to Stohess yes or no?

@ErenJaeger: I'll think about it @HanZoe: hurry up because we don't have time.

@Erenjaeger: Ok

@HanZoe: Is that a yes or a no?

@ErenJaeger: see you in three days.

@HanZoe: Ok, give me your number.

@ErenJaeger: we will keep in touch around here.

@HanZoe: but the wifi network traveling is terrible.

@ErenJaeger: Via Rail has built in wifi. You will know about me without problem.

Just at that moment Carla arrived at Eren's room opening the door without warning.

"Eren I need you to come down to help me with the shopping".

"I told you ten thousand times to knock on the door. You don't understand the concept of privacy from what I see."

"Oh sorry son, could you come to help me downstairs with the purchases?"

Eren sighed tired 

"Not now."

"Eren!" - she said pouting.

"I'm sorry, not now."

"Please."

He put the phone aside and decided to help her.

After hours he decided to investigate the tickets from Shingashina to Stohess just to verify the rate and there was a promotion from Tuesday to Friday for only half the price with an option to pay debit or credit so he remembered that he had good money in his savings and that a Little trip out of Shingashina since he was off at the university, he would not dislike him. The veterinary school was closed for remodeling and classes had not been given again for the same. His mother had insisted on putting him to work for her from home, but Eren wanted to work and earn money for himself so he served as a waiter in some jobs for no more than three months and then helping in a car shop as well as an assistant to his father at the veterinary clinic. He decided to click to buy the ticket and that tomorrow without further ado he would tell his mother. It had been a long time since he had been around the capital and they were on vacation, so staying in Shingashina was not an option for him, he wanted to go out more for himself than to go to the supposed audition of No Name.

He took a look at his Fender Squier Classic Vibe Stratocaster '50s, a new guitar that he had just acquired and decided that this was a very big risk that he did not want to take but he must have a valid excuse to leave the house without his mother sticking her nose, and how she discovered the lies sooner or later she would tell him tomorrow no matter what happened. He hoped his father would support him.

The next morning Eren prepared the table, coffee and pancakes, everyone sat down to eat happy with the classical music in the background that Carla loved so much so Eren took the initiative to clear his throat and give the announcement which was not taken in serious until he said he bought the ticket to leave that day at 4 pm on a Via Rail express train.

"What did you buy what?" - she was so outraged she stopped eating- "Eren you think you send yourself alone but I need someone who"--- was cut off by Grisha who interrupted her.

"Tell me Eren, what are you going to do in Stohess besides sightseeing and spending the money?"

"I will go to the Stohess Theater because I am going to audition for the band No Name who is looking for a guitarist.

At that Eren's little sister Isabel was moved.

"It is true, I have read that they are looking for a guitarist, they stopped the tour for the same reason."

"No Name" - Grisha said rubbing his chin- " so the band that you went to see as a child with Zeke is asking for a guitarist, right?"

That's what I just said."

"But Eren"- interrupted his mother- "who is going to prune the garden when I am not there or take to clean my car when I am busy at the university besides"-

"Mama the world does not revolve around you, please understand I have a life too."

"It's true Carla. Eren is already a 19-year-old man and needs to stay on track. I vote for him to go and try, if he doesn't stay, he already knows that he can return and stay here working with me as an assistant in the clinic."

"But Grisha you don't understand "- was cut off by Isabel."I support the motion with all violence, my little brother must leave Shingashina and take the trip of his life.""But Isabel, who is going to pick you up from school?"

"Mom, I use the school bus, Eren is always working or studying, he never picks me up, I come home by myself."

"It's true Carla, you have no excuse to keep him here." They continued arguing throughout the morning as he packed his suitcase and guitar but there was no going back. At least he would get out of Shingashina after so many years and see part of the world again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you know spanish or if you are learning spanish you can also read the original work. I would be glad to know what you think of it.


	2. Audition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren arrives to the Amphiteathre to audition as a new guitarrist for the band No Name

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello , your daily dosis of update since I am translating the spanish fanfic into english by myself. I hope you guys enjoy this wild and fun ride .

The train trip would last three days with stops in strategic places where to get in and out earlier but for Eren it was only a one way trip and he had only one destination: Stohess train station and he had already agreed by message with Hange that he would take his things except the amplifier for being very big so they would have to lend him one to connect with his guitar when auditioning. 

On the train they only allowed him to carry medium instruments but not expensive and large sound equipment because of traveling by express so he hoped it would give a good show when standing in front of them and playing.A kind of adrenaline took over his body as he mentally reviewed the songs he was going to play; To tell the truth, he was somewhat stressed because it was Levi Ackerman with whom he was going to end up playing if he even appeared in the band and although he did not care if he was left or not, a part of him wanted to show his brother that he could also stay in a band and play successfully.

Obviously, his career as a veterinarian could be ruined at any time because the faculty had stopped working due to strikes and he did not feel like studying engineering or dealing with humans in medicine, not even laws because it was many heavy articles and many words to read and studying something that annoyed him. For now he was in limbo with respect to his life in general and he hoped that with this trip, although he was not given something, he could at least leave Shingashina and see part of the world in general. Leaving Paradise at some point to tour and forget about his problems at home, his mother's demands ... 

* * *

Levi was playing a soft melody on his acoustic guitar while at the foot of his bed his green-eyed tabby cat purred placidly. Truth be told, he liked his company more than the many humans around him, perhaps a little more than his bandmates lately. Titus didn't judge him and was always there for him when he felt bad. He sat on his stomach and massaged him with his paws, a luxury that only the cat could give himself because if any other human dared to do the same, he would end up beaten or insulted. The only one able to get away with it was Hange who teased him often.

"You know Titus, sometimes I feel like I can give more of myself when I go on stage but fatigue can get too much and I'm old now, I need help I can't go on as before. My lungs are not enough for me and addictions with cocaine and crack are taking their toll. You have no idea what price I'm paying."

The cat shook his head, looking puzzled at his owner as a meow came from his mouth. Levi sighed in frustration going back to his guitar while wondering in vain when he would go back to being his old self. He remembered when after each concert he would go backstage to drink and taste ecstasy as well as other substances. The girls rained in heaps on top of him and the one carried away by the substances allowed himself to be done and never remembered anything or their names the next day. When did his life take an unexpected turn? When had ten years passed so quickly in the blink of an eye? When did age start to take its toll? He didn't even know it himself. 

* * *

3 days later he had arrived at Stohess station and was ready to audition. He had spoken to Hange by message as he kept texting him during the trip asking him what songs he knew and which one he would choose to audition for. He had answered some of Foo Fighters or As I lay dying to which Hange replied that she was not sure it was a strong option since they had seen those covers on his channel , she encouraged him to chose better, one of which he had not covered. Something heavy then came to mind an option that he had planned for a long time that he had not yet uploaded to his channel but he had already practiced it many times. He hoped it was up to their liking.

He confirmed that he had already arrived by a last text message since he had agreed to receive calls and messages from the producer and manager of No Name, Erwin Smith and Hange Zoe also to be in contact as soon as he arrived. His heart immediately raced as he stepped outside the train station looking at the rooftops in midsummer, the signs welcoming the train platform, arrival and departure. The kindness of those who helped him with his luggage even without needing it, since he only brought a black backpack with blue and gray, his change of clothes and the suitcase-type trunk where he kept his guitar. He arrived at the beginning of the station where tickets were sold and asked for the bus line that would leave you in front of the Stohess Amphitheater.

The girl who was answering the call at that moment gave him a sharp look and then continued with his business while the other patiently waited for him to finish speaking.

"Sir, what do you need?"

" I was wondering what the bus is and the timetable to get to the Stohess amphitheater if it doesn't bother you".

The girl blinked a few times before answering.

"The de Stohess Amphitheater is under renovation until further notice sir, I'm afraid you can't go there."

Eren remembered from a text message that Hange had informed him about the theater and its remodeling process, that as soon as he arrived he would call Erwin with directions on how to get there and what to say right away. "Excuse me then," he said without more than turning around taking his cell phone from his left pocket to dial while on the other side of his pants he was looking for the paper where he wrote that number. It rang twice before hearing a prevailing male voice.

"Hello, Agent Smith, who did you talk to?" - straight to the point.

"Hello, good morning my name is Eren Jaeger I have just arrived at Stohess station I would like to know which bus I should take to go to the Amphitheater."

"Eren jaeger? Of course, when you exit in the middle of the entire corner of the main station on the right hand side you will get bus 52 that leaves you in the entire front of the Amphitheater."

Eren checked the corners of the window and indeed there was the bus. "I'll see you there well," he said without further ado.

"One more thing before you go, the bus comes at 15, 25, 45 and 55 every hour, so don't feel bad if you lose this one right now" - he looked at the clock confirming his suspicions.

"Well thank you very much"."See you soon."

"Thanks." He hung up the call while a Levi with his feet on the desk smoking a cigarette looked incredulously at Erwin, unable to believe that he lost the bet.

"You owe me 300 in cash and you know it," he said triumphantly.

"That bastard finally came."

" Well of course. Hange turned out to be convincing after all."

" And why is she not going to look for him?"

"She will wait at the entrance of the Amphitheater to receive him."

" She's getting away with it and you let her do what she wants."

Erwin berated him with a look."Get your feet off the table."

"I don't want to."

As this situation had already happened so many times, he decided to take a metal ruler and hit it on the tap. "Hey, that hurts!" - Levi bellow angrily.

"We have already done this too many times in your way now it will be mine and I want you to go and wait with Hange for the arrival of the boy ."

" I'm not going to help shitty- four -eyes to look after that brat and you know it."

"Eren, his name is Eren."

"I do not care"

" Levi please."

Just then Hange slammed open Erwin's office."He's here "- she shouted excitedly.Levi hid his shock with a grimace of disgust as Erwin rose from his seat.

"Show him in, I want to meet him."

Hange smirked." He's already in the audition room so the three of us could go see him."

"I think it's a good plan," Erwin anticipated while Levi resignedly denied.

"What's wrong Levi, you don't want a guitarist anymore after all you've been kicking about?" He said mockingly.

"He's a Jäeger, doesn't the last name ring a bell?" Erwin leaned close to Hange's ear whispering "don't listen to him" as they approached the audition room.

As soon as they entered they saw a boy in a black cotton shirt, jeans slightly torn at the knee and black military-style boots. His long shoulder-length hair, a small mustache and earrings over the tips of his ears but no visible tattoos around his arms unlike many others who had come to audition. Erwin was the first to shake his hand followed by Mike who had recently come to see the new boy, Hange hugged him excitedly thanking him for coming and for proving that he would come. As soon as Levi saw him, he felt like dismissing him, he looked slightly dirty with that mustache that he was carrying and he doubted that the train had showers so he deduced that he had not bathed for three days and that disgusted him. What he did catch however, was the hypnotic blue-green eyes he carried which were impossible to ignore. 

"My name is Levi, I guess you already know who I am," he said without shaking his hand, looking questioningly at Eren.He felt the mistrust and could sense that he was not welcoming him.

"A pleasure, yes of course I know who you are," he said without extending his arm but staring at him.That didn't make a good impression on him. He was supposed to reach out for his hand even thought he wasn't going to stretch it back anyway. 

"Did you take a shower? Looks like you haven't touched the water in days."

"Levi please don't start," Erwin and Hange said in unison. But he was glaring at the new man like a hyena stalking its prey.

"And did you brush? I can smell the stench of cigarettes from here."

Levi snickered maliciously.

" Is that the only thing you have in your repertoire? It is the worst answer you have ever given."

" I don't remember you being that short."At that moment Hange, Mike and Erwin froze as Levi changed from a mocking face to a serious one.

"Excuse me, what did you say?" He glared at him while Eren undeterred answering."In fact on television you look higher than in person. I bet you used platforms."

Mike burst into laughter that filled the entire room. Levi seeing his reaction fired his poison."And you look better from afar than up close."

" Touché."

"Oui, bien sûr idiot."

Hange, seeing that the situation intensified, reminded them that they were here to test the new boy and see what he could contribute to the group. "

It better be good," Levi said, looking skeptical at Eren who was already unpacking his guitar and looking for his cable to connect to the studio amplifier. He watched as he got into position while the others waited for him to finish testing the sound and connecting the amp to the guitar.

"This will be interesting," Hange said as the boy tuned his guitar and played a few notes which were enough to pique the interest of everyone in the room.

"Well Eren, what are you going to play? Erwin asked.He stopped playing the notes for a second to answer"Phantasmic parade."

"From Epica?"

"Yes".

"That's very good," said Mike to which Hange nodded excitedly, high-fiving like a kindergarten girl.Levi, for his part, stood waiting with an expressionless face.

"Good Eren , whenever you're ready" - Mike said to which Eren nodded getting into position ready to play. 

He started playing the intro with his guitar since the audition would be without the original track, soon he changed to the beginning of the guitar solo where his part was supposed to begin and from then on the rest of the song followed in which he completely ignored the judges immersing himself fully in the sound of his guitar since in that space it was only him and his Strat. There were moments where his peripheral vision showed him a crossed arms Levi who glared at him as he played and that made him a little nervous which caused him to bury his gaze on the strings of his guitar to calm himself.He kept playing until the end, by the time he had finished he looked up again to meet a proud Hange, a Mike whistling in amazement, an Erwin with eyes sparkling with excitement, and a Levi with the same impassive face except for a grimace similar to a smile.

Eren just looked at them waiting for their verdict. Mike started."I think that was a very good rendition to Epica. I like it a lot."He smiled a little when he heard it." Thanks."

" That was excellent from my point of view, the only thing is that you didn't make eye contact with anyone while you were playing" - Hange stressed- " I guess it's an artistic way of concentrating, right?" Eren gave a nervous laugh as it was something like the truth of why he did not look at people while playing.

"That was excellent from my point of view, you did not make strange gestures, you stayed calm and focused only on the music and I like that " - Erwin pointed out while Hange and Mike backed him up. He scratched his head all flushed without knowing what to say except "Thank you", being short of words since he was not used to flattery.

Levi finally declared that it was not bad at all and that this song was a peculiar choice and he liked it a lot but he emphasized his last comment. 

" Shave that mustache and you'll be accepted into the band."

Everyone laughed releasing tension in the environment while Eren doubted he wanted to obey Levi.

"So what do you say Erwin? Does it enter or not enter?"

Erwin looked determinedly at Eren 

"Are you willing to work with us from now on? "Yes," he said with aplomb although inside he wanted to explode with happiness.

"So let's sign the papers and stay in the band today".

Hange's scream echoed throughout the place as Mike and Levi complained about how loud it was.

"Call your family and tell them that you are now part of No Name.""I'll do that," he smiled, satisfied with himself. 

* * *

Levi kept thinking about how quickly the boys had accepted Eren when in past times they were much more exclusive with whom they let into their lives. The boy did not play anything bad and had to admit that he did not look bad with him or the group. It was as if the perfect mold had come into their lives at the right time but he would never admit it because his pride was winning. The boy was very talented and he proved it by watching his old YouTube videos where he played cello, covering popular songs or classics by Bach and Rachmaninov. There was a video where he came out in the front row playing while his mother sang. The famous Carla Magnolia and her Carmen and la Traviata numbers, he listened to her because her mother was contemporary and a close friend of Carla in her youth. One had a child at an early age and could not continue dedicating time to singing while the other waited years to be able to leave in a stable marriage. How he envied that boy's training; part of him wanting to make up for lost time learning to play the cello. 

"Well, at least I can play the piano" - he resigned himself as he turned off the laptop and the lights to sleep. Titus jumped on the bed while Levi checked that everything was in order.He sank under the covers as the cat positioned himself purring in his head.

"Thank you Titus" - he said while a slight meow came from the cat- "for reminding me that I also play the violin. What would I do without you? You're the best."

He clapped twice and darkness engulfed him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading , any suggestion I'll take them in the comment section.


	3. Mistakes pay dearly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren has his first fight with Levi, then goes to a shopping mall and things get out of control.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fanfic is a translation of my original work , also translated by me.

Now that he had signed a contract with No Name, he was scheduled to make the announcement the day after the audition while the executives of the Nuclear Sound production company asked him to play for the umpteenth time the Phantasmic Parade solo and other songs in their repertoire such as Sweet Child O 'Mine just to warm up while others were already taking excerpts from his YouTube channel to put them in the news that would appear in all the media.

Erwin was in charge of sending the link of Eren's channel to Zacharius Dackley, general director of the record company and he hardly saw what it was about, he was proud of the choice because it was well known that a boy with a background in classical music jumping to the rock and metal music scene was kind of interesting. In addition, his renowned mother's fame helped by giving the band a little more status, which thanks to the erratic behavior of its vocalist for some years ago had diminished the popularity of these and their albums declining in sales. 

* * *

Hange stretched her arms placing her right hand on Eren's left shoulder as they walked out of the Amphitheater to the mall. He was unperturbed trying not to seem overwhelmed by the kindness and familiarity with which she was already treating him but it seemed a bit exaggerated that everyone recognized him more for his mother than for his brother who also led a band.

"So since you have few changes of clothes, I suppose you will also buy colorful clothes, not just black for the stage, right?" 

"Yes, I will not buy much, in fact these Jeans that I wear and other slightly worn navy blue ones are fine. I will only buy two or three T-shirts for the trip since we leave tomorrow, right?"

  
"In fact, you will need more clothes than a simple .Mike will be able to help you with that since he has a lot, don't worry" -- Erwin added putting a hand on his right shoulder.

"I think they would be quite big because he is taller and my build is different from his," Eren said skeptically.

"At least you are taller than Levi and although you are not as much tall as me or Erwin, I am sure they will fit you better than him."

There was a loud laugh from everyone, partly due to the maniacal laughter of Mike and Hange but it did not last long when they saw Levi's murderous look blocking the exit of the hall with crossed arms. The funny moment died right away and while he tried not to look intimidated, Eren knew that provoking Levi was a very bad thing because of his reputation for being volatile and how strong he was which preceded him. 

"Nice joke, I also want to laugh."

"I think you heard that right," said Mike.

"Oh yeah? Remind me what it was."

Hange knew this was just one of his friend's intimidation tactics so she interrupted his moment.

" Let's see Levi, you are old enough to be offended by a joke as simple as your size. You call me glasses or four shitty eyes and I'm not offended so give it a rest because we're just trying to be friendly with the new member. If you're not going to help him feel at home, step aside and let us help him. Ok?"

Hange also had the power of intimidation to her advantage when she wanted as she was the only one other than Erwin who could put him into orbit and lower his ego. She did not remain silent or put up with all Levi's rudeness despite the years they had been living together; perhaps at first, due to not knowing how to react to his practical jokes and hurtful comments but after several years together, immunity was something that was earned.

"Tch, I'm not here to fight" -he approached them standing right in front of Eren.

" I hope you can last us a long time from now on and don't get carried away by what they say. Look if they talk about me like that with you, imagine what they will say about you when I am here and you are not."

"Levi!" - Erwin warned.

"It's the truth."

Eren just stared at him without blinking. Gray and blue-green eyes met in a duel of defiant gazes with impassive faces that cried out for a fight inside. The silence was sharp and tense. Levi stood like a stone blocking his way.

"Are you going to stare at me all day or what?" - said the short man.

"It depends, are you going to stay like a rock on the road or will you stop being a hindrance and let me pass?"

"So I get in the way, huh? Power is rising to your head and you've only just arrived."

"You are confusing me with you. You were the one who almost ruined the band."

Levi did not wait any longer and lunged at Eren throwing him to the ground amid screaming and pulling while he tried to calibrate his weight against the lower one to be able to withstand the blows. He had seen enough wrestling tactics to know how to handle a fight at a disadvantage but the fists did not reach and he remained on the ground with his arms crossed waiting for the impact that never came. Erwin and Mike had simply pinned Levi up against a wall at the point of exertion as he was very strong and difficult to handle. Hange took care of Eren telling him to get up, which he did as quickly as he could, searching for his attacker with his eyes. When he saw him cornered, it was like seeing a pit bull foaming at the mouth.

"Hell, how ugly he looks like that," he said aloud as the cornered man just wanted to get away from the big guys to break his face.

"And to think that just for telling a truth he wants to kill me."

Hange stared at him in disbelief because the only person other than Eren who had been able to provoke him with so few words was someone who Levi did not like but laught at for his way of thinking.

"You remind me of someone who knows how to provoke him with so little but I don't know if you know who he is."

"Oh yeah?"-- He said, dusting his shirt off, "I'm glad to know I'm not the first to do it. I already thought this guy was made of stone."

He headed for the exit not without first checking his pockets. He had everything he needed and just enough money to buy a few things.

"I'll be back soon," he said without further ado, stepping out into the sunny Stohess as Hange followed him.

* * *

At the mall, Eren checked in every corner of each store he passed, specific garments with squares, logos and monochrome shirts in pure black, emerald green, gray or even white, preferably cotton as they were easier to wash by hand or washing machine. without fear that it would wash out so fast.

"Hey Eren does it bother you if I ask you how old you are? "- Hange began with curiosity.

"19" - the aforementioned replied dryly.

"That means you were born in 2000 because we are in 2019 and we are in the middle of March."

"In essence I am 18 but I will be 19 shortly."

"Wow you're a baby, how cute."

"Disappointed?"

"Oh no, just surprised, you look very mature for your age."

"Thanks, I guess" - he said without looking at her as he was checking some shirts with the H&M logo. Right at that moment, Hange's cell phone rang as she got lost in her pockets looking for it until she found it in the pocket of her sweater which she wore tied around her waist.

"Here it is!" - She said unlocking and without looking she pressed the accept button-

"Hello Hange Zoe, who's talking?"

"Hange, we're outside," Erwin's hoarse voice said, "we're waiting for you in front of the store."

"Ok right away, I'll rush Eren"- she hung up the phone."Hey Eren, they're waiting for us."

"I heard," he said reluctantly as he headed to the locker room to try on a shirt.

"Hurry because it is not good to make them wait."

Eren groaned irritably as he closed the door to try on shirts and Hange sighed reluctantly. Later when they left shopping they ran into Mike, Erwin and Levi who were waiting eagerly to meet.

"It took too long," the shorter one complained.

"Eren wanted to buy some shirts for the trip that's all"

"Didn't I tell you you could wear my shirts?" Mike complained.

"I just wanted to spend the money I earn working, it's not too much to ask, right?"

"This is not the time for discussions, boys, it is time that we go packing suitcases for the next trip."

"That's why I bought some shirts"

"Yes, but those few shirts won't work for the whole year " - said Levi.

"I can wash them and use them again, and if we go on tour there will be moments of rest where you can go buy more clothes, right?"

"In that you are right Eren, only instead of buying they give you clothes from sponsors " -Zoe clarified.

"Better for me." Levi took the opportunity to find a moment to humiliate Eren.

"Speaking of hygiene and clothing, did you take a bath?"

Eren understanding the hint answered him."Smell my armpit and check it out."

But the shortest seeing that there was a water fountain right behind them, specifically behind Eren took the opportunity to approach the other with an air of smugness to intimidate him.

"Not bad," he said as he walked in circles, looking closely at the tallest man while the inspected already saw a trick coming.

"But "- provoked the other waiting for his response.

Levi at that moment, looking at Eren's shopping bags, decided that it would be a waste of money to throw him with everything in the water but he did not count that Mike, feeling the tension in the air, decided to take the step by pushing him so that he fell on top of Eren's chest, who in surprise released the bags just before his knees collided with the edge of the fountain causing him to crash into the water with a demonized dwarf. Hange and Erwin cover themselves before seeing them both splashing in the water trying to get out of it. They soon burst into laughter along with another group of boys unaware of the situation who were watching the scene with interest.

"That will teach them not to be such idiots," Mike said proudly while Erwin and Hange continued laughing. Eren was the first to come out squeezing his hair and shirt leaving a visible puddle thanks to his wet pants, while Levi foaming at the mouth cursed loudly as he stumbled out of the fountain seeking revenge on Mike who already prepared, dodged one of his fists while running to the corner hoping not to be hit but Levi being vindictive followed him running to meet him and give him his blow.Hange couldn't stop laughing as Eren shook himself like a dog filling everyone with water taking off his shoes and socks squeezing them in the fountain trying not to look as disastrous as possible.

"Don't splash me" - Erwin sentenced using his cold steel gaze while Eren just mumbled "I'm sorry."

Mike kept dodging Levi who did not want to let his anger drain but did not count that the scream of a lady would stop the fight. "Hey you two" - bellowed the lady at the same time that they both stopped and turned to see whose authoritative voice it was. A woman of at least 1.67 with a plump build and a deadly gaze spread them both by the shoulders to draw their attention even more.

"You are ruining the floor of my store" - she sentenced angrily with that authoritarian look that only few have. Mike got the hint and apologized while Levi just sat with his arms crossed.

"Now they will have to clean up the mess they made"- he pointed to the whole puddle of water that they had left around all the shops that surrounded the fountain while some security policemen came in their direction. 

* * *

Erwin's House 9:30 pm

"I'm hungry," Mike complained as Nanaba massaged his back.

"That's what you get for being a joker, you would have left Levi alone to fix his problem."

"Oi Nanaba, he was the one who started it!" Levi complained irritably as he uncovered a can of beer.

"Didn't Erwin forbid you to drink during the tour?"

"Guys, no fights please, this is very serious" - Erwin began, looking disapprovingly at both of them- "at this rate we are not going to finish the tour and we have not even started on the right foot the reception of the new guitarist."

"Tch""Ah right, I saw your channel today but I saw that it came out on social networks that both fought or so says The Portal.net " - added Nanaba.

"Precisely that is why I brought them all together in my house to talk about this matter and point out that thanks to Levi's undisciplined manner" - he emphasized the last word, drawing their attention using his magnetic gaze - "and thanks to Mike we are in a huge problem."

"Arghh, not again!" - said both in unison.

"Yes again"

Just then, Eren walked in with one of the new sets of clothes that he had bought at the mall. He had shaved off his beard, his hair was freshly washed and tied up in a ponytail giving him a cleaner and more appropriate look totally different from what they saw today at noon when he just got to audition. Nanaba very enthusiastically greeted him extending her hand to shake it as he gladly accepted it.

"I have been told a lot about you. Is it true that you are the son of Carla Magnolia?"

Yeah, my reputation precedes me, I guess I can't escape it" - he shrugged.

Mike smiled at him, telling him that the change suited him well while Erwin waited for everyone to gather in the living room to talk.

"Eren, Levi," he began with a tone of voice that did not allow for a reply, "if you two do not start to get along well from now on we will have much more serious problems later. In all social networks there are playing today's viral video and what happened in the mall, and some hateful comments claim that you hate each other and that it is the beginning of the end of No Name."

There was a dead silence in the room as Erwin looked at everyone seriously. "We are in an era where everything is public and you as a band and members must lead by example. Zackley just called me half an hour ago claiming what was happening and why the media is out of control. You do not watch the news but I do and as the manager of this group I do not intend to let the little reputation damaged thanks to its rude vocalist, continue to sink due to a disagreement of ideas."

Levi met Eren's gaze without saying anything, crossing his arms. Erwin continued his speech

"So whatever problem you have, right now we are going to discuss it because I do not plan to continue giving explanations to the press or denying rumors through social networks explaining in an extended post about what happens with their members. Let's make life easier for all of us, respect each other and stop the practical jokes and silly things because here we are all adults and we are working to carry out a tour. This is not about you as individuals but about the band and what this last decade was like, giving the fans what they long for the most, music, nostalgia, good memories, gaining more followers. Don't forget!"

When he spoke with authority, you had to listen to him because he was the voice of reason that held them together and this situation would not be the exception. When Erwin was already in authoritarian mode it was serious and everyone got serious. 

* * *

Later at 12:30 am

Eren was chatting with his mother on the speakerphone in a room assigned to him to sleep.

"Yes, mom, it's official and I signed a contract."

"That's good but if you go on tour it means I won't see you for a year or two," she said worried.

"Buy a ticket to see me at a concert or I ask you for VIP if you want" -- he joke with irony.

"Don't be funny, I don't like that horrible and heavy genre of music. I don't know how your father can be so calm when he knows this news. He was the one who informed me."

Eren chuckled because he remembered the photos of his father when he met Carla at a Gun’s and Roses concert and how he had a very rocker look for that time. It was normal for his father to accept the likes of his son if he grew up listening to that band as a child, Iron Maiden, Motley Crue, Queen, Black Sabath among others.

"May I remind you that Dad listened to that music when you met and I grew up listening to it too."

"And it also got into your head to learn to play the guitar, so you gave up the cello and classical music."

"I still have the Cello in the instrument room," he said wistfully.

"Yes, you still have it. I do not lose hope that you will play it again one day".

"I still remember how to play it."

"I hope it's soon when you come back and you can do it. Miss you."

"Me too, mom."

"Beware of excesses!"

"You can't be affectionate for five seconds because it kills you."

"No Eren, the world you are getting into has many excesses and crazy people, I tell you that I went to many concerts as a young girl and I know what it is about."

"You went to a lot of concerts and you hate metal. What a discrepancy."

Carla found herself at a crossroads, in that aspect Eren was very similar to Grisha, anything she said would be used against her since they both waited for the right moment for her to contradict herself and mockingly refute her argument. It was something that gave them too much pleasure but she did not give in so easily.

"When I started to go out with your father, yes, obviously I started going to more concerts of that style."

"And it's getting late mom, tomorrow I have a flight to catch so ..."

"Wait Eren, don't cut me like that. I pass on to your father who wants to tell you something, one moment please."

Eren rolled his eyes waiting for his sleepy father to be abruptly awakened by an elbow in the rib from his mother who he saw coming. He felt legs and tails sit between his legs while marveling at the curious companion he began to stroke his fur.

"Hi pretty, where do you come from?" The cat meowed in response as he allowed himself to be stroked. From its long fur, extremely pointed ears and enormous size, he knew it was a Maine Coon because he used to see them a lot at the veterinary clinic where he attended his father. The phone rang again with Carla's voice.

"I'm sorry son, your father is very tired but tomorrow as soon as you arrive at your destination please pass him a message that he wants to talk to you."

"Okay mom, good night."

"Take care"-- she hung up the call which surprised Eren who always had to cut her off.

"Wow mom, you're learning!"

The cat caught his attention again with a slight purr, curling up in his lap."I have to go to sleep," he said, placing the cell phone to charge on the table, turning off the light bulb, leaving everything in the dark. The cat, understanding the hint, went to Eren's pillow.

"Hey! Now where am I going to sleep?" - He complained as the cat meowed in response. He wanted to get him out of there but it would be impossible for him , also you never say no to a kitten. He settled near the pillow, groping in the dark, trying not to disturb the cat who felt his closeness. Soon he felt vibrations in his head caused by the sonorous purr of his furry friend.

"I hope this helps me sleep," he whispered without further ado, closing his eyes falling soundly asleep soon after.


	4. Trip to Australia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In wich EldianMar and No Name meet again. We have our Zeke versus Levi encounter for the first time of the story.

At the airport while waiting for the luggage Eren mentally reviewed everything that happened the day before the trip, the calls with his mother, the incident of the fountain in the mall, leaving Paradise and seeing through the window after so many years the world whose horizons they opened for him again, for the first time in a long time, as if welcoming him back to his vast space, he felt fulfilled.

Ed, Gunter, Oluo and Petra who attended the band as internal staff and traveled with them everywhere, collected the suitcases of the other members who were on the other side of the airport because they had all wanted to buy boxes of cigarettes and Some coffee to wake up. Eren guessed it wouldn't take long but they were taking too long as an hour and a half had passed and there was no sign of them. Surely they were approached by crazy fans and that is why they did not come or so he wanted to believe.

Anxiety was eating him alive. 

"Hey your bags, Eren!" - Petra's feminine voice called as he put his phone in his pocket to grab his navy blue suitcase with pink Hawaiian flowers.The truth is that when he went to the stores to look for suitcases to buy one-color black suitcase ,one in particular caught his attention and the largest were for girls and that frustrated him. But Hange decided for him and bought him a huge one where everything could fit and it was made of ABS since its cover was hard and resistant on the outside but very light when carrying things inside. The bad thing is that there was only design for girls and although Eren protested, Hange reminded him that nylon and polyester suitcases were not good suitcases.It wasn't that heavy to tell the truth and he liked that a lot when he picked it up, as he was wearing few clothes but had other personal hygiene products with him. Suddenly from the other side of the airport he saw a bustle of people leaning out to see what was happening, screams of euphoria could not stop being heard and Eren understood that his band was there. Or so he believed when he suddenly heard a name other than No Name.

" EldianMar!" - one man shouted as he saw a tall man of 6′ 0, silver blonde hair, with a beard and glasses go by while the fans went crazy asking for his autograph. He smiled happily, accessing photos and autographs without a second thought.Behind him were three burly men, one blond, one red-haired and one brown-haired smiling with crossed arms posing for a photo next to a long-haired, bohemian-style brunette in a summer hat and Hawaiian dress.

"Pieck, a photo with us please!" - a fan shouted while the aforementioned smiled and went to her for another photo. There were men who also lined up to take pictures while the press did not stop firing flashes. In the middle of the crowd he could make out who once studied with him in Trost High School, Reiner Braun who kept doing stupid bodybuilding poses while the girls drooled over him yelling like crazy excited. Eren thought he looked like a behemoth doing weird poses while Porco Galliard was also competing as to who would strike the most forceful pose to impress. The only one who stayed behind relaxed like nothing was Marcel, the brown-haired one who, as he could see, took his time to attend to the fans, talking to them, asking how their day was and thanking them for being with them here.But the plans to stay watching the band were truncated with a pull from Oluo who reproached him that it was already late and that he had to walk since they were running late.

Eren looked at him with the face of few friends, how he disliked that guy and from the faces he saw from the rest of the staff he knew that there was animosity towards the members of that band, why he could easily imagine it because he was no stranger to show business. There were already rumors since last year that the leader of EldianMar got on very badly with the leader of No Name and for his misfortune or luck he was now playing on the rival side of his brother.As he walked with the staff who were trying to locate the rest of the band, Eren didn't think that suddenly a No Name fan would start whispering to her friend next door when she saw him to start muttering her name very softly. Some girls started making strange noises and prying eyes as she tried to ignore what was being said around her. He was soon approached by a couple of enthusiastic girls who blocked his path causing him to lose sight of Erd, Oluo, Gunther and Petra.

"Excuse me, you look a lot like the new guitarist of the band No Name. Are you by chance?"

He wanted to say no, but in addition to his suitcase, the guitar protector he wore on his left shoulder gave him away, so lying wasn't going to save him this time. 

"Yes, it's me. But at least you know my name, right?"

A shriek and excitement from another girl caused them to shout his name too loud and fast for his liking as the crowd came harassing him with questions and asking for photos for the press. Now he was among a sea of people alone without his band and they had not yet given a press conference to explain in greater detail.The girl who had asked if he was the new member now took out a marker and notebook asking for his autograph while another asked for a selfie. He was stunned by so many people asking him for things he did not notice when a hand rested on his shoulder and a male voice said his name with pride.

"Eren Jaeger! Brother, good to see you! "- Zeke said while Eren looked at him in amazement and then reciprocated his older brother's hug. The shock was so great that he suddenly felt suffocated between his brother's embrace and the crowd that surrounded him.He did not notice that the No Name staff had found his whereabouts alerting Erwin, Hange, Mike and Levi; nor did he realize that they were already heading towards where Eren was to protect him. Great was the surprise when seeing a huge ball of people who did not take the step surrounding the section of the suitcases to be collected, nothing could be seen and meanwhile the airport security was put in protective mode intervening to take two people who nor could they get out of the tumult without being harassed by the crazy fans. The flashes and the shouted names gave him away to understand that they were there, so without asking for help he entered the crowd to look for him.

"Eren, Zeke, since you come to the Blues Fest, can we see collaboration between you?" - Asked a reporter with microphone in hand while the camera focused on them. Zeke took the hint since Eren could barely respond blinded by the flashes and waving to everyone while a girl pounced on him, leaving him unable to do anything else. 

"I think it is possible but it will have to fit in with our calendar "- he said self-sufficiently as if it were only a matter of time.

There was his precious older brother wanting to take the attention of everything and everyone answering for him while he tried to speak without success due to the girl who was still hanging from his neck. He did not want to be rude but the truth was he was already bothering about all this. Suddenly he heard a demanding masculine voice from the left side as he appeared from the crowd. 

"Your calendar is not the only one that matters, we are also busy" - again the screams of crazy fans cornering Levi this time while Eren watched as he quietly ignored the hugs and kisses that he brushed off without looking rude. He had to learn to do it that way so as not to make the fans uncomfortable.A very strong tension between glances began and it did not go unnoticed that said frozen gaze was partly directed at him. What had he done to deserve such a look when he was on their side? He didn't know, because if the problem was with Zeke, why the hell would he put it in the same package?He looked at the two waiting for an answer that did not come from either of them so letting go of the hold of the girl who did not stop pawing him, he got in the middle to speak to the press. 

"We are excited to be here, my brother Zeke and his band EldianMar will surely put on a very good show. The rivalries between the two are not my thing, I was hired by No Name and I hope to be good in it, we will see how we do at the BluesFest in the meantime." He finished his words while grabbing his luggage, went to where Levi was and then said to Zeke:

"It was a pleasure to see you brother"- he turned around when Levi grabbed his wrist.

"Hope I don't see you fraternizing with the enemy or else " - He was cut off by Eren.

"Or else? Relax, we came to play and get along, not to make a competition and beat us."

"I'm not that impulsive brat. I'll be watching you." 

There he really understood what was the reason why he looked at him that way. He believed that it was all a conspiracy plan towards him, that he would switch sides and betray him. While their relationship was off to a bad start and there were no signs of improvement, Eren was not going to switch sides. No Name was a good band and as a child he liked it, he used to listen to their songs as a boy and although he had fulfilled an old childhood dream now more than ever he had to show the band what he was made of. 

"Look" - he started trying to count to ten in his mind-" I have no intention of betraying you and fraternizing with the enemy when the problem is with Zeke and not with me, please turn him down, will you?" 

He gave him an annoyed look that indicated warning while Levi just stared at him seriously without saying a word. He walked away to go with the rest of the band staff while Erwin made his appearance showing his face for the band placing Levi on one end of his arm and Zeke on the other who smiled amused at all. The flashes were immediate and Levi just wanted to ruin everything for the things that Erwin made him do to gain a better image.He recognized that Eren had a point, that it was not his fault that he resented him because the problem was with Zeke but something inside him did not quite square this new member and he would not rest until he revealed his secret, because there was something that to you could see that he was hiding and that would be the key to looking for another member.

* * *

They drove away at The Byron at Byron resort and Spa to relax and prepare for the festival, they had arrived early to practice in advance but also because they wanted to explore the areas and do a bit of sightseeing.Hange being the most enthusiastic about going to the beach and surfing while Levi challenged her to beat her record with the waves as he was also very good at this sport. Mike and Nanaba would also join him while Erwin would probably want to sit back and relax and take a nap, maybe even tan on his back ,but Marie his wife, had warned him about freckles and sun spots on his face and back.He remembered that his wife would go to visit him because she had a few days off from work so seeing her after so long would make him look forward to it.

"I can see your face like a dreamer, what happened to you?" - Levi snapped.

"Umm All good, it's nothing."

"Oh no? So why do you make that face?"

"Which face? I do not know what you're talking about."

"Ay Erwin"- Hange called his attention - "I saw you, that face is because you dream of seeing Marie again." 

At that moment Mike, Nanaba, the band staff along with Levi and Hange began singing:

_Marie, my love, where are you?_

_I don't see you_ _I feel like I die_

_if you are not here_

_Without you life has no meaning,_

_come back my beloved_

_Come back soon now_

They laughed out loud after singing while Erwin all fearless folded his arms rolled his eyes in exasperation because it was well known that if he stoically endured the mockery of his friends it was because of the years he had been working with them to the point of making them family.Marie was accepted and loved by everyone in the band so he was grateful that they sometimes teased him about her, she was the love of his life and the cutest thing he had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: ABS: it is a new type of plastic that is very resistant to impact, hard and with a high resistance to abrasion. It scratches less than other materials and is very light.  
> Rigid suitcases are less flexible and more resistant. The greater resistance of its materials gives it a higher price but greater durability. They have an advantage over polyester or nylon and it is their cleaning, they are cleaned very easily. The materials of the rigid suitcases, used in their manufacture are: ABS, POLYPROPYLENE AND POLYCARBONATE.


	5. Blues Fest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Eren sees old friends including his old school rival Jean Kirsten and Reiner Braun

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's some violence coming up so hold yourself because it's hard.

The music was blaring, the stage was set as No Name began playing the best-known songs that made them famous early in their career. The guitarist gave a good show alongside the bassist and drummer while the vocalist sang the songs with his only voice. 

_And I'll always remember your faint smile_

_While you back away._

_Why would you have to go?_

_You leaved me stoned and broke away_

At that moment the guitar solo sounded when the choir part arrived, causing the crowd to frenzy where the screams of crazy fans and people surfing in the middle of the public were important elements. 

Eren remembered old times where long before he used to be on the other side of the stage trapped in the middle of the crowd struggling to see the concert, when he still wasn't playing like now and he had a shirt with the logo of the band in which he curiously now played. A group of girls shouted his name while he only had eyes for his guitar although from time to time he looked at them which caused then to scream ,he smiled satisfied.

Behind the stage, a pair of amber eyes observed the scene, the euphoria, the feeling of the people, the summer heat, the music, the guitar and bass solos, the resonance of the sound thanks to the amplifiers. All together while the event unfolded in front of him.A voice called his name several times but it wasn't until he felt the shoulder shake that he reacted. 

"Jean!" - Mikasa called him and this time he did turn to see who was talking to him.

"Do not get too close, leave room for the cameramen to record them well. You're stepping on the line, step back".

He did as he indicated in a quiet way, barely looking at the ground and then looking back at the guitarist on stage. He remembered when Eren Jaeguer auditioned for his band years ago, he had come dressed more convincingly to give the impression that he was ready to get into a band. He remembered when he and Connie had giggled in derision. The way in which he got to connect his guitar to the amplifier to play and the way in which he gave his audition, which although it was ambitious, he did not want to let it in despite the fact that he stood up to it.

"I was not prepared" - he said that time and Eren replied "Fuck you Kirsten". From then on, rhetoric on both sides began. Of course, that time Jean won by telling him that he was the one who decided who would leave and who would remain because he was the leader of the band. Those days when he saw him come out with his tail between his legs, he would never forget it because it was the equivalent of his personal triumph smiling with his face of arrogance at that time. What came for him was many years of touring with his group in addition to recording some songs as a soloist and all that one day led him to be a spectator of how someone new came to battle for the attention of the fans.

The boy who played - no - the man who was now playing on stage in front of his eyes was someone completely different from the one he met that time in high school, the loser that everyone at school hated for being a nobody because of a stupid unfounded rumor by Historia Reiss. Everyone knew it was false but they decided to play along because they liked to humiliate the new one.

The song had ended and suddenly the screams of the fans were more audible as Levi took the baton to say a few words and start a new song. The guitar solo accompanying the bass sounded in complete harmony as the vocalist's voice began the lyrics.The touch of this new melody was a little softer than the previous one which of course had been played first to shock the audience. Jean knew to use soft songs as an intermission to appease after the first song that is supposed to keep them excited, that strategy was nothing new in their eyes. 

As he watched as they played together, he wondered when he came to know of their existence after so long. So busy was he with his next tour with The Golden Smears that he hardly knew of Eren's existence when the new band member was announced on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and showed videos of him playing cello and doing other guitar covers.

No Name played two more songs but didn't have a chance to listen to them because his band was coming right after them and he had to enlist with the others. They were already coming down and they were going up when there was a friction from shoulder to shoulder causing the two mentioned to feel an electric shock while they exchanged hostile glances. Amber eyes against greenish blue speaking ,challenging words in a tiny but intense moment that was noticed by members of both sides. It was enough with a single movement of the black head to continue his course while the brunette took the stage with the band.

He took possession of the microphone as soon as he reached his position as leader and vocalist as Sasha, Connie, Mikasa and a not very elusive Armin arrived at their positions to play. 

"Blues Fest How are the people of Australia?"

A shout of joy was heard throughout the stadium as some held up banners of Jean Kirsten, others of Mikasa asking her to marry, others with the band's name. The guitar riff was heard as the band began to play their heaviest melodies and the moshpits began again, the crowd surfing among others. While playing the bass, Mikasa sang the backing vocals while Jean spoke the beginning of the lyrics. The two complemented each other while Connie set the rhythm with the drums.

* * *

In the dressing rooms in the waiting section where members of other bands chatted while waiting their turn to play, Eren heard a voice calling him from behind, then he turned to look at Zeke waving as he called him to meet to speak with him. He decided to go greet him. 

"How are you brother?" - he hugged him while he returned the greeting and incidentally took the opportunity to greet Pieck, Reiner, Porco and Marcel who were introduced by Zeke.

"You're very good at playing," said Pieck, flattering him.

"Thanks"- he said as he turned to see Zeke.

"When do you play?"

"Right after them," Porco pointed in the direction of the stairs that led to the stage where the Golden Smears music was playing.

"Ah already! , good luck."

"Thank you," they said in unison.

"Eren, do you realize that they are talking about you on twitter? "- Zeke began.

"Well, no, I really don't have time to check the networks between rehearsals." He shrugged as he crossed his arms.

"Seriously? I thought you were aware" - said Pieck.

"No I'm not. With the pressure that I have regarding the band and the security measures, I can hardly go to the bathroom and take a shit."

A loud laugh rang out across the hall as Eren grinned at his own joke.

"It's the funniest thing I've heard today," Zeke said, taking a cigarette from his right pocket and a lighter from the other.

"We must not smoke in the hallways, Zeke, security measures," Pieck reminded him.

"You want? " - Zeke offered his brother but he rejected. 

"Thank you but I don't feel like it right now. I don't know, I guess I just want to drink water, I'm a little dehydrated."

"The beers are over there in that corridor, you can get one of that machine with only two dollars and you're done" - Marcel explained pointing to the place.

"Thank you, I'll take it into account, I'll be back."

"Ah no, wait brother, we want to spend more time with you. Explain to me how you ended up in Levi's band." 

At this, a murmur full of stifled laughter was immediate. Eren with an impassive face just looked at Zeke with a meaningful look while keeping his face impassive. 

"If you saw the news you will know that they interviewed me and put videos of me playing covers."

"And you also played the cello long before that," Reiner interrupted.

" Well, isn't that enough for you?"

"It's good information but I mean the personal part. How could someone like you get close to Levi like that?"

"They contacted me," he said dryly.

Everyone was confused asking more questions but a husky and powerful voice made itself felt in the hallway. Eren turned to see Levi approach where he was and felt that the tension could be cut with a knife because that severe look he was giving him was an unmistakable sign of accusation for fraternizing with the enemy. 

"Levi, good to see you," Zeke said as he put a hand on Eren's shoulder; this gesture further darkened the look of the shorter while the green-eyed rolled his eyes sighing. He must have seen it coming. Reiner asked him what was bringing him here, but Levi just shot Zeke dirty looks as Eren slipped out of his brother's grip.

"If you allow me, I think that you have unsettled issues and I'd better leave them because I don't want to be the third in dispute."

"Stay!" Ordered the two rival gang leaders in unison, who now looked at themselves with tension.

"What do I have to do with it? The problem is between you, I am only a guitarist and I have no desire to fight with anyone."

"No one is going to fight you brother."

"How cute, defending the brat, let him speak for himself."

"I already did."

"Shut your mouth, brat."

"Don't talk to my brother like that. It's not his fault."

"You do," said the shorter one before grabbing Zeke by the lapel of his shirt which made Reiner, Marcel and Porco get on guard.

"Hey, calm down the two of you. We are not in a fighting ring" - exclaimed Reiner while sweating cold.

"Really Reiner?" Eren called his attention. "Weren't those the words I used a long time ago when we studied together? Do you remember?" 

Reiner froze when he saw Eren's significant look and he fell silent holding his gaze because some things between them had not been completely resolved.

* * *

The Golden Smears finished their turn to play but Jean and the rest of the band took their time thanking and saying hello to their fans before going down on stage. Armin was excited chatting with Connie and Sasha as Mikasa got down right behind Jean escorting him to go get a drink after the play. He intertwined his hands with her and she accepted the gesture because they had learned to know each other better and love each other over time. 

"You would have seen your face, if not because I know you, I would swear you were jealous" - he joked while the aforementioned looked at him mockingly.

"Look who's talking when you got upset because they asked me at the autograph signing to marry one of them."

" I knew you wouldn't go with him, you're not that kind of person."

"You're lucky that I choose to be with you."

"Auch! My feelings."

Mikasa smiled as she went to the corridor where there was a machine to buy drinks next to Jean who would not stop singing and spouting bad jokes in order to make her laugh, until she collided with Connie's back ; overwhelmed she asked him what the hell was happening for him to stop abruptly . Connie heard Sasha's voice but did not quite understand what she was saying until he made his way to see the members of No Name against those of EldianMar engaged in a fight or rather trying to prevent their respective leaders from committing first degree murder for participating in a violent scene.

Mike and Erwin tried to stop Levi while Porco and Reiner tried to stop Zeke. Hange as the voice of reason was trying to talk to Zeke and Pieck trying to reason with Levi. Marcel and Eren watched from the corner ready to fight in case things got out of hand.

"Some old habits never die," Jean thought aloud, somewhat dismayed by Levi's attitude, whom he had seen in previous days of practice and he looked very normal.

"Eren! "- he heard his girlfriend's voice as she went to hug the aforementioned who, surprised that he recognized him, accepted the hug without further ado.

"Long time no see, Mikasa. How has everything been?"

" I ask you that. Since you came to work with the bitter dwarf, there has been nothing but trouble."

" As if I was to blame for the tantrums that Zeke has."

" Well, that's partly true."

"Partly?"

"Eren."

"Look Mikasa, it is a long story in which I am not involved or I was not, at least until now."

Jean watched Mikasa and Eren's scene with some jealousy but did not see affection from the second which calmed him down; he sighed a little relieved because he had held his breath the moment he had gone to meet him. 

"You don't have to worry Jean" - said Armin smiling slyly- "she just wants to be with you but saying hello to an old friend from time to time doesn't hurt anyone." 

Jean Startled , looked at the blonde and reproached him for something that made the boy laugh.

"If you look at his body language, he has no such interest in her and Mikasa only sees him as a great friend."

"Don't fuck with me anymore, it's not like I'm jealous."

"I didn't say you were."

Mikasa returned to Jean's arms as she watched as Eren left with the rest of the band to one side and Zeke and his group to the other. 

"What the hell happened there?"

"Zeke provoked Levi, Eren got in and they had to call Erwin to impose order."

"And that's because..?

"They cannot see each other , Levi has a history of verbal and physical aggression against Zeke and he has defended himself several times. It is also speculated that Zeke provokes it" - concluded Armin.

"You always know all the gossip, who would say that the nerdy brainiac at school would end up knowing everyone's life "- Connie snapped.

"Having a privileged ear helps a lot," he snapped back.

"Even if that indicates you hear others moaning at night," Sasha commented making everyone of the band members, blush.

"Let's not start Sasha, look I also have your history" - Armin gave her a dangerous look - "Nikolo or Nick was his name?"

"Stop!"

Several laughed while Sasha, all embarrassed, did not stop making a fuss.

* * *

Erwin had a few words alone with Levi but later called Eren to speak with him and ask him not to continue having contact with Zeke during the festival so as not to provoke Levi's irascibility. This rolled his eyes and decided for the peace of the group to do it, because Levi was dangerously angry, he did not want to endure another little scene of the two of them being in the middle and having to mediate for both of them.

"Don't roll your eyes when I tell you this is serious, put yourself in Levi's shoes for a moment.

""Ok. I agree."

That was how things were agreed and the subject was not touched again for the rest of the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. See you next update.


	6. Excentricities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Eren Plays at a bar for a small audience and people alike for them to appreciate his talent.  
> Also Jean and Mikasa are together in this one. 
> 
> Friendly Reminder this fanfic is an original translation from my work in spanish which you can read at A03 , Fanfiction and Wattpad. 
> 
> https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13233676/6/Dias-de-gloria

The stage lights had dimmed to match the slower rhythm of the acoustic guitar as the singer adjusted the microphone to his height as he was going to play sitting down. The crowd silenced by the first chords that began to play marking the melody of the song that began were enough to hypnotize them. 

_Hey Joe, where you goin' with that gun in your hand?  
Hey Joe, I said where you goin' with that gun in your hand?  
Alright.  
I'm goin down to shoot my old lady_

_You know I caught her messin' 'round with another man.  
I'm goin' down to shoot my old lady  
You know I caught her messin' 'round with another man._

_And that ain't too cool.  
(Ah-backing vocal on each line)  
Uh, hey Joe, I heard you shot your woman down  
You shot her down now._

While the man with the guitar continued to play, some men further back at a bar counter watched the presentation satisfied, immersed in the music, occasionally commenting quietly on how great the acoustic guitar sounded.

"It's good, very good," Mike began as he took a sip of his beer.

"He is, he knows how to give good concerts and it's good to be his first time," Erwin said, smiling satisfied as he directed a few glances at Hange and Levi who were absorbed in the singer's voice in front of them.

"Levi does not seem to think the same as he continues with his usual impassive face" - Mike joked releasing a slight laugh as Erwin followed the game looking from the aforementioned to the boy on the stage. Levi did not realize it but without knowing it his eyes were shining because the boy in front of him was not the same insolent that he had met as a new member of the band but someone serious and transformed, enveloping the audience with an acoustic guitar which he looked as if was the most precious thing in the universe, just him and his guitar as he used to do as a child discovering the strings and their chords, his notes when he first began to play.

For Eren the only way to avoid nervousness was to look at a blind spot because he could not look at the guitar or the ground all the time because he would lose connection with the audience, even so he hated the feeling of turmoil in his stomach and the accelerated pulsation that it caused even a small audience. It was unbelievable how badly it suited him and how well he concealed it once by starting to play on stage. Once he finished he waited for a moment until the applause began , he gave his " thank you" and leave the stage entering the dressing rooms; he did not notice that someone behind observed as he sat on a chair and opened a can of beer which he had grabbed on his way from where some ice cellars were going down the hall.He looked up from the beer in hand to the mirror to meet a penetrating gray gaze whose impressions were difficult to read, he held his gaze for a long time before emitting any sound that came out of his throat but was confronted by the opposite when he saw the slight tremor in his jaw, Levi broke the silence.

"You played well brat."

"Thank you," he said without blinking.

"Remove that astonished face, it's not so bad." 

At that Eren turned to see him with a serious look.

"For a moment I thought you were going to assault me".

"I'm not as bad as I seem once you get to know me." He approached the chair where he was sitting.

"I hope what you say is true."

"You will find out in time, it all depends on how I like you."

"Oh my, I thought you had lowered the hatred a bit but I see that not even the walls yet-…" - He was cut off by Levi.

"Don't get me wrong, it's not that I dislike you but very few people really know me."

"Well as long as I can bring out your more professional side, that's the only thing that matters to me."

They held gazes, neither blinked, and suddenly a cutting silence settled in the air. No one gave his arm to twist. Suddenly Hange's shrill and excited voice cut off the tension of the moment as she came excitedly to congratulate Eren on his presentation.

"You were fabulous, I didn't know you sang and you do it very well," she said enthusiastically.

"Thanks Hange, it wasn't a big deal."

"Well, you are humble, I wonder if you are like that naturally or is it just a facade."

"I think the latter" - he said playing along.

"Ha, I knew! It was too good to be true."

"Could you stop turning your back on me with four eyes?" 

At that moment the aforementioned turned around to see the owner of the grumpy voice.

"Oops I'm sorry Levi, you're so small that I didn't see you"

In that moment Eren laughed as Hange dodged Levi who reproached him for calling him that way.

"Calm down Levi, it's not that bad " - she laughed amused.

"If you don't calm down or leave, I'm going to break into your room and clean every dirty corner of it and throw your lizards from the tour."

"Ah wait a moment, Sawney and Bean are sacred, and they are not lizards, they are chameleons."

"Anyway they're still disgusting reptiles."

"How dare you talk about my babies like that?"

In that Eren got into the talk.

"Hange, I have two small albino snakes one is called Ren and the other Stimpy."

At that phrase, they both looked at Eren.

"You found your other half four eyes, someone who likes reptiles like you."

"The snakes are great, you just have to know which are poisonous and which are not."

"Can someone in here be normal and have cats or dogs?"

"I could be, but my chameleons are better also normal is relative, what is normal for the spider is chaos for the fly."

"That's what Morticia Addams said.""

Yes, do you like the Addams?"

"I used to watch it a lot when I was little, it was one of my favorite childhood movies."

"Me too, when I was quite little I used to see him to fall asleep."

"So you weren't paying attention to the movie" - Eren concluded.

"What are you saying? Of course I've seen that movie more times than you and I know it back and forth, only that when I was little I calmed down by watching it. By the way Eren, why don't you tell me more about your pet, what kind of snake is your albino?"

"Ball leucistic Python, has blue eyes, is small and white and they are called that because they tend to roll into a ball. They are harmless, they do not harm anyone, the female is larger than the male but they do not grow much."

Between so much talk about rare pets and their fetishes, Levi managed to persuade Hange to come out of the dressing room in search of Mike because he had to ask her for a favor and he was looking for her. She was not very convinced , gave him a warning look that Levi captured very well and calmed her by saying that nothing would happen. She raised a suspicious eyebrow but was interrupted by Eren who told her that he would catch up with her later and would be talking about their pets.

"Well, now that we are alone, I want to ask you if in addition to my usual behavior when we met, have I provoked you again, or something that has bothered you in a certain way?"

Eren weighed his response ,he liked it and did not like it at the same time; the dynamic they were having from meeting and getting along on stage and during rehearsals. Levi used to be quite closed and it was difficult to get into conversation with him without feeling like he was talking to a wall.

"To tell the truth, I understand that you don't like me but at least you make the effort to talk to me when you tell me when something is wrong in rehearsals."

"It's my duty as the leader of the band."

"I know, it doesn't bother me and about the first time we interacted I'm really sorry I provoked you."

"It's normal, you were new and you had no right to speak to me like that. That does not mean that I could be more aggressive in my words and less in my actions."

"Well, yes, but I don't understand what was going through your head to act that way. You're usually not the first to attack or so I've been told."

"You shouldn't have provoked me by saying that either. You know that what you said was out of place, you are new and although it sounds arrogant unless you have time with us you have no right to speak to me like that."

"You speak like an older brother."

"You are a brat, you are 19 and I have more than a decade making history with this band. I hope you know your place."

Eren stared at him expressionless as Levi looked at him with warning in his eyes, as if he was throwing daggers at him.How long was he going to continue this way? He didn't know but Eren out of pride wouldn't let his guard down because he wasn't going to beg him, it was stupid that a guy in his thirties, maybe forty-something was fighting for dominance when Eren apologized and had already understood his place. He was not going to betray him or the gang, nor was it his intention to do anything to them, he just wanted to get along with them and for the dwarf to stop giving him a hard time.

"You know, you need to calm down, I am not going to take your place or do anything against you. Any problem you have with me only because of my brother's association, I assure you that I am not like him nor do I want to take advantage of anything."

"Let's put that issue aside, I don't treat you like that because of that idiot."

" Oh no? So why are you looking at me in a challenging way wanting to provoke me when I've never done anything about it to earn your bad temper?"

Levi looked down for a moment, turned around as if wanting to leave but turned again to face Eren.

"It is a long story."

"My patience is longer," he replied sarcastically.

"I'm not going to tell you exactly what happened, it's private."

"Then take it out on someone else instead of me . I am not to blame for what happened, I am just a new member."

"Stop repeating that chant, I know!" - He stopped at Eren's eyes and his face softened -" I just want you to keep doing a good job as always and sorry for being rude before."

He turned to leave the dressing room leaving Eren much more confused than he expected.

" Looks like there is no way" - sighed the brown-haired man." I have to do field research." 

* * *

Outside the dressing rooms at the bar, some members of other bands like The Golden Smears and EldianMar were chatting with each other. He thought that this would be the perfect time to interview some of them, and while he was playing his role as a private investigator, something inside of him never ceased to amuse him. Probably if Levi found out he would be in serious trouble but that would not stop him being curious and inquiring. He spotted Mikasa and Jean talking to Reiner so he decided to greet them to start the investigation. He approached them as casually as he could but they ignored him because they were busy talking to each other or so it seemed until a female voice noticed him and made all the faces at the table look at him again.

"But look who's here, the suicidal bastard from school! Eren Jaeguer"- Reiner started cheerfully as Historia Reiss seemed to sit down without taking her eyes off the new boy. Eren seemed to get a bucket of cold water, his investigation would go to hell with the gossip of the blonde in there, he still remembered when in high school he instilled stupid rumors of him wanting something with her and that made him lose his interest in that frivolous popular school girl.

"What brings you here Eren? Long time no see" - Mikasa greeted cordially while Jean also smiled.

"Well, not really, I wanted to come and socialize a bit and incidentally I had some questions to ask you but I think that last one can be left for later" he shrugged and looked furtively at Reiner and then at Christa.

"Heard you couldn't fraternize with the enemy, you know, after the incident with Zeke in the hall."

At that comment, Jean received an elbow in the side by Mikasa.

"Excuse me, Eren. Jean tends to be a bit intrusive at times."

"There is no problem Mikasa, in fact I just wanted to come and relax for a while, really all that stuff makes me too dizzy."

Reiner took part of the conversation.

" Well yes, it is not fair for you since you are the new one but in my opinion you have known how to handle it very well. I hope that doesn't mean we can't be friends or continue to see each other behind the scenes."

"That sounded so corny," Historia interrupted jokingly, "you should declare your love for him."

If he liked the girl he probably would have laughed but Eren just ignored her to ask Reiner if they could talk alone for a moment and that it wouldn't take long.

"Ahhh Eren, I know where you come from and the truth is I have no desire to talk about it. You just stay away from your half brother for now and as long as they don't see you talking to him everything will be fine. Believe me you want to save yourself problems" - he said taking a sip of his beer.

"Okay," he sighed, "I'll go ask other people," he said without further ado to turn around but Reiner stopped him.

"Hey, wait! Why don't you stay and socialize with us? So much time with No Name makes you bad, you isolate yourself too much."

"The famous Reiner asking me to stay, let me see if I heard correctly. You the famous soccer player at school asks me, Eren Jaeguer, to stay. Didn't you forget the memo that the popular ones do not join with the Nobody?"

"That was a long time ago Eren. Forget the past."

"Easy for you to say, who cornered me against the locker in twelfth grade and beat me until my ribs ached?" 

An enormous silence fell on the table as Eren looked from Reiner to Jean and vice versa, his arms crossed and his jaw clenched. Christa and Mikasa looked at each other a bit worried while the boys felt a bit sorry.

"Look Eren, we were idiots. That happened a long time ago and the truth is I don't want to recall the past, don't ruin the evening please" - Jean began.

"I'm just saying it so you don't try to screw me if I decide to join you, the last thing I need is a scandal in the press of you taking inappropriate photos to ridicule me and then spread rumors that are not true."

Mikasa intervened somewhat alarmed.

"Eren, that's past. Please enough."

She gave him a meaningful look as he considered his words. He gave up for the moment and forced a smile. Meanwhile he decided to stay promising himself not to participate much and to ignore certain unpleasant presences.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mospit: it is the area or place in a concert where the crowd joins to dance aggressively pushing each other, for this purpose in English it is called Moshing. It has more aggressive variations such as the wall of death (Wall of death) which is the largest of all and the most dangerous since it seems a battalion of all against all. This movement emerged in California and Washington in 1980
> 
> CrowdSurfing - Crowd surfing - also known as bodysurfing, is the process whereby a person passes elevated from person to person (often during a concert), transferring the person from one place to another. The "crowdsurfer" is passed over the heads of the people, who support the weight of the person with their hands. At most concerts and festivals the crowdsurfer will be passed to a front barrier by the crowd, where they will be reinstated by security assistants. They will then be returned to the side or the back of the crowd (at the end of the barrier) even expelled from the venue, depending on the policy applied.  
> Crowdsurfing generally occurs only towards the front of an audience dense enough to support a person's body. It is most popular at metal, punk, rock, rave, and indie concerts.  
> To get above the heads of the audience, a person can use an impulse, in which the person chooses another to be thrown over the heads of the people, or a stagedive.  
> This has been known to happen to unwilling participants who have been thrown up by others by surprise, in which case those participants may also have been kicked out.  
> Riff is an often repeated phrase, usually played by the accompaniment section.  
> Thus, the term riff can be called as a musical phrase, distinguishable and repeated throughout the piece, thus differentiating itself from the solo, which is where the artist exploits his abilities, which is why it is not repeated during the song. The term riff arose in the American musical jargon of the 1920s, and is used primarily by rock, jazz and derivative musicians.  
> -The lyrics that Eren sings at the beginning is HeyJoe by Jimmy Hendrix  
> -I had been planning to give Eren exotic pets and albino snakes that form a ball. The royal python (Pythonregius) is a snake from the python family, typical of tropical Africa. It is also known as "ball python", as a result of its shyness, it tends to roll around itself, putting its head in the center, making a ball. This python is usually very calm, which is why many people have them as pets. It currently has no recognized subspecies.


	7. The tour begins

The concerts for Sydney Australia, Welington in New Zealand, Kyoto and Tokyo in Japan, were already scheduled for the next four weeks as the tour began, so they had no choice but to focus on rehearsals after the festival.

They had to catch a flight from Ballina airport to get to practice in Sydney but not everything was easy for them because as soon as they arrived they had to eat something light and go to the Sydney Opera House where they were going to practice. Everyone in the band was a bit tired but eager to get started. Eren was a bit nervous and felt that it was going to be worse at night which puzzled him because he had played at the festival and did not feel nervous unlike now, not even when the girls at the airport began to notice him or when he was engulfed by the focus of journalists. Levi, for his part, was so used to life on tour that nothing could take him by surprise, just like Hange who, although always enthusiastic, had a lot of energy to give on stage and Mike being so calm and relaxed, first of all, he did not flinch for nothing, always holding hands with Nanaba and talking a lot with Erwin behind the scenes. 

"Hey Hange, what happened to your boyfriend? Was he not coming to see you? - Mike asked bothering her to start the day.

"Please, I beg you not to mention it," she said with a friendly smile but with a warning tone that did not go unnoticed by anyone. Eren thought that of all the people he least wanted to anger was her and for some reason his instincts never lied to him. 

"I just want to know how things are between you, I thought you had reconciled" 

Erwin elbowed him in the rib because they did not want to upset her.

"Okay Erwin, I'm over it, it's not to die for."

"I still don't want you to bother."

"It's not a bother but I've had worse."

"What time is it to be at the Sydney theater?"- Eren interrupted, cutting off the conversation.

"At 12 you have to be there to assemble the equipment and practice for the function that will be in two days," Hange told him.

"Great it's half past eleven and we barely got to the hotel."

"We don't have time," Levi said.

" We have to go out"- Hange sentenced, wanting to cut the subject. When they arrived at the theater they entered through the main door observing all the fabulous internal architecture of the building as they went up. Eren had only seen images of it and photos that his father sent him during his travels, which in a certain way filled him with suspicion at that time because he had seen half the world and he was just beginning to see it. At least he would have years ahead of him to discover and visit many places in the world because he was young. 

"Oi Eren, don't get distracted, over here brat"- Levi said when he saw his astonished face looking in amazement at the design of the place. Eren gave him an annoyed look because it distracted him from his reverie but he understood that it was necessary to continue advancing because practice was coming and he had to prepare for the concert in two days.The hard journey until they reached the dressing rooms where they settled their instruments while they began to prepare the sound equipment, Erwin and other managers spoke with the theater lighting engineer, they turned up the amplifiers to connect the guitars and basses and they brought the microphones setting everything. for rehearsal. 

Hange kept joking with Mike about his chameleons showing him videos of them catching flies which intrigued him as Levi drank a can of beer listening to Hange and Mike laughing, sometimes checking his phone and texting (God knows who) while Eren remembered the conversation between Reiner, Historia, Jean and Mikasa and how they said goodbye in a friendly way. To his surprise, he did not end up being bothered about his past and in a way they had apologized to the thing that alleviated his desire to hit them all, but even so he tried unsuccessfully to inquire about Zeke and his past dispute with Levi because the mere mention of that it made the blond very nervous.During said talk that night, the furtive glances that Jean directed him when he wanted to bring up the subject or the tension in Mikasa who grabbed his arm when Eren mentioned something about it did not go unnoticed by his eyes. It seems that everyone in a certain way except him, was involved because they all knew something and did not want to mention it, which increased their curiosity even more. It also didn't help that Levi gave him enigmatic stares without blinking for a long time while his expressionless face held his jaw tight.

If Eren wanted to investigate a little more about his past, he would have to be patient and slowly break the hard armor that he had built around him. He should earn their trust, which at this point seemed impossible because at the slightest intention of approaching, the black-haired man was already turning his back to go somewhere else.

The rehearsals went quite well for the lengthy that they were, Hange and Eren came together to harmonize at the same time that the songs reached their climax and ended strongly leaving the viewer wanting more after the song ended.Levi finished the songs one after another and only took breaks to drink water and sing again; From time to time he asked to repeat a song because he had not sung correctly or had not reached the note he should have, it was common knowledge that he was a perfectionist so they had to extend the rehearsal for more hours than established. They were all exhausted by the end of the rehearsal and shuffled back to the hotel. When Eren thought he was finally going to go to sleep, a call to his cell phone indicated the opposite, finding a video call from his mother who wanted to talk to him. He answered reluctantly in exhaustion as Carla's shrill voice echoed through the corridors of the hotel as he made his way to his room. 

"Mom call me when I get to the room please" - he said irritated by her excessive enthusiasm in contrast to how tired he was from the rehearsal at the theater. 

"First that everything is said, blessing, I am your mother, no matter how tired you are, you answer me when I call you, do you understand me?"

Hange plunged into the video call to say hello enthusiastically, which took Eren by surprise but didn't stop her from continuing.

"Eren I see that you are in good hands, what time is it there?"

"It's 3 am mom, we just got home from rehearsals."

"A pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Eren's mother, I'm HangeZoe, your son is in good hands."

"That relieves me, Hange, I want to see that he is well and that he is well fed, that's all."

"Mom, may I remind you that I am here and that I am not a dog."

"Oh honey I only care about your well-being, I never meant to say anything inappropriate, although on second thought, a dog is much more loving and obedient to its mother and is happy to see its master after a certain time." 

Eren gave him a mean look, then rolled his eyes in disgust. He hated when his mom behaved like this in front of others. 

"Who is it, four eyes?" , Levi got into the conversation as they went up in the elevator to their respective rooms. 

"Eren's mother."

"Greetings ma'am," he said, putting himself fully in front of the camera to say hello, which caused Eren to push him slightly, throwing him out of his sight as he was blocking him.That caused Hange a bit of laughter and slightly irritated Levi who gave Eren a murderous look; he ignored him completely to talk to his mother in the middle of so much chaos in an elevator. 

"So you're on your way to the hotel to sleep?"

"Yes mom, we're tired, let's eat and sleep or so I think" - he looked at Hange making strange noises while Levi gave a loud yawn.

"Not even coffee saves us from sleep."

"Your practices end too late," Carla reasoned.

"That's life, what did you expect?"

"That you have a normal job with established hours and come home every night as a normal person." 

At this, Eren rolled his eyes and decided that he was tired so he dispatched her as they reached the room and turned off the phone. As he got to the room assigned with the card he was given in the lobby, he heard a whisper on his back so he turned around to see what it was about.Hange was whispering something in Levi's ear and because of their closeness, he preferred not to say anything else, he opened the door and got into the room as fast as he could. He had probably interrupted or heard something very intimate that although it made him curious, he preferred not to think about it too much; he undressed as best he could, remaining in boxers and threw himself on the bed to sleep soundly.

* * *

The next day he did not hear the knock on his door or the messages on the cell phone because he had it turned off but he felt water running all over his face which in a way woke him up overwhelmed until he opened his eyes and could see a dismayed Hange, a Levi with his arms crossed, a Mike looking attentive and a worried Erwin watching as the new member of the band just woke up. Joining Petra, Oluo, Erd and Gunther who were the band's personal assistants who helped with the packaging among other things. "Looks like someone didn't hear the reminder," Levi began blankly.

"Eren, I think you slept more than half the day, it's 3:30 in the afternoon and you're still in bed" - Hange sentenced. 

The aforementioned was alarmed by asking why no one had woken him up to which Erwin replied that if they had tried to contact him but because they were not present they had to take drastic measures and get to his room because he had not shown up early, his dark room had alarmed them thinking the worst and Eren thought it was not his intention to scare them. 

"You have five minutes to get ready Eren, three to take a bath and two to get dressed starting now"- Levi sentenced strictly."Don't screw me, I'm just waking up.""I count five and have four," he said, looking at his watch in hand.

"We'll be waiting for you outside," Hange said, getting up from his bed to give him space but Levi sat on the edge of the bed like an executioner waiting for Eren to get up while he took his clothes and went to the bathroom.

"Choose another change of clothes, you are not going to dress with what you were wearing yesterday."

"Are you my mom? - he reproach him, squinting."Watch out for that brat attitude."

"I just got up."

"And we're late for rehearsal." 

Eren reached for his suitcase to get clean clothes under Erwin and Levi's scrutiny while Mike, Hange and the rest of the staff left. 

"You should make your bed."

"Either I do one or I do the other" - he replied annoyed.

"Okay guys, let's stop fighting, Levi we're going to wait for him in the hall to give him more privacy."

"No way, someone has to fix this mess."

"That's what the hotel maids are for" - Eren replied from the bathroom turning on the shower to get in. 

* * *

This would be the last rehearsal before the performance the next day but since there were many problems with the sound and lighting director it seemed that the concert was going to be delayed for a few days which infuriated Levi and put Erwin in conflict over the schemes to follow on the tours, that is until Petra jumped to the rescue and since she had some experience in the theater working behind the scenes.At first, not everything went well for her, but the general director of the theater guided her and helped her a little. In the end, everything would be left to chance. The next day's concert started at eight o'clock at night and everyone was in position to start.

Outside Erwin and Nanaba were selling tickets or collecting with other members of the theater while they prepared the assigned chairs. Little by little the seats were filling up while behind the scenes the nerves increased. Eren breathed in and out again as he waited for the curtain to open to the audience, Hange and Mike were in position as was Levi who was deep in thought. Suddenly the voice of the presenter was heard that night and all the members tensed waiting for the curtain to open. Usually there were other bands that opened for them but that night they had decided that they would start directly playing eighteen songs for three hours ending the concert at eleven thirty. 

The roar of the audience was swift as Levi took command of the stage with his voice introducing the band and starting to play without further ado. The powerful songs full of a lot of rhythm and heavy drums flooded the atmosphere, managing to concentrate the public giving them more than one memorable night while they begged for more, so much so that they had no choice but to extend the concert until half past twelve.

* * *

Levi was ecstatic celebrating with everyone how satisfied he was to have done a good job. Behind the scenes, all those involved in the team were happy about the good start and the reviews that were obtained from the press, in less than half an hour they swept on twitter putting them in the first place of the most discussed, praising the good chemistry between the members of the band . They said incredible things about the vocalist and praised the new rising star that was Eren for singing and knowing how to keep the rhythm with Hange and the tune they were both in when they played on stage. When they both read that they looked at each other, laughed while high-fiving each other. 

The following days were rehearsal and concert and traveling, staying in hotels, waiting for local bands from Wellington in New Zealand to open for them, and so it also happened in Japan in the respective cities as well as giving press conferences and interviews to magazines, radio shows and appearances playing on local and international television. Eren being the new one, he was the focus of attention and many times they asked him uncomfortable questions that fortunately he was able to avoid by means of answers or preferred not to mention anything about it by asking other types of questions. He used to give concrete answers and they always showed him the videos that he uploaded to YouTube with the guitar and cello covers. Hange, Levi and Mike gave him advice on how to respond because some hurtful comments towards him did not wait either, saying that he was sparing of treatment and gaze and that he should be more sociable.For his own mental well-being, he avoided social networks, but on the other hand, every time he got out of the limo with them to any event, he looked at the girls asking for autographs calling for his name, so he took the opportunity to say hello and take pictures with them in addition to signing. autographs to be more sociable. Soon his popularity improved and people began to appreciate him more, even some affection. He hoped things would get better from now on.


	8. Rumors

He hoped things would get better but it was not like that since soon rumors began to circulate about his past at school, he used to be quite harassed for being normal and because of a certain girl who at that time instilled a nonsensical rumors about her being stalked by him, which wasn't real since he had never approached her or cared for what he did. But that was the price to pay when you got famous and there were any number of people on the internet boasting that they met you when you weren't even anyone in the media.

That was the past since his present consisted of being surrounded by vloggers on YouTube commenting on him. People podcasting on the radios, talking about his musical career since they were young, the television channels who previously did not give the time of the day to No Name for a long time, now focused on the new guitarist who, very shyly answered the questions as best he could.

For Eren, being respectful and cordial was a priority because Erwin closely watched the boy's impulses, for which he knew he was observed, and answered all the questions they asked him with the greatest poise possible, if he could be called that since he was someone too honest, sometimes too much for his own good. Levi observed the public scrutiny and interest in Eren and thought that he could give him a little advice but not control him to the point of telling him what to do like Erwin who feared for the brutal honesty of the boy. He felt that if he did not open his mouth to advise him, things were going to get out of control, he knew that many interviews contained leading and somewhat malicious questions that could take everything said out of context and give them bad publicity. One day after the break from a rehearsal where Eren was going over the notes to play for a complex song, Levi called him to speak, so he got up from his seat and went to him.

"What do you want?" - he asked simply.

"Don't be such a spare brat. I need to give you some advice because at any moment you screw it up.

"Eren stared at him in the most indifferent way possible, his eyes were neutral waiting for answers. Levi was carefully observing Eren's face as if he was waiting for whatever he would say to attack, since Eren was somewhat responsive as well.

"Well, I will start by saying that if it is true that your way of answering is not the best you are not so bad either, but when they begin to ask directly about the rumors of the school, do not raise your voice to deny them because it makes you look desperate and as a liar. You can also pass if you don't want to answer the question, however, do not roll your eyes, it makes you look childish, you are an adult , you should be a little more polite when responding, otherwise they will start attacking you the more reactions you give. And I know you try to do your best and you prefer to play before giving interviews but get used to the idea of doing meets and greets because our image depends on that."

"I know."

"You have good technique and you play quite well but please be kind, you are somewhat honest but there is a way to say things. It sounds crazy that you hear me say it since I am not the most cordial and elegant person or considerate when it comes to giving an opinion."

"We agree on that, but I will take your words into consideration."

"Well, having said that, I have seen you play in a certain crazy way in recent days, are you by any chance left-handed or right-handed?"

"Ambidextrous."

"I mean if you tend to use the right or the left more."

"I tend to use the right but I can use the left if I wish, both to write and to play right and back."

He said nothing more and decided to keep quiet as he nodded and left, leaving Eren wanting to say more. In the evening when they had finished rehearsing for the concert the next day Eren checked the messages on his phone watching videos on Instagram and the messages that some followers left him, in addition to coming across videos talking about him, how he played and above all , reading comments about rumors of his past at school. He came across the account of a certain Connie Springer who studied with him where he uploaded a before and after editions in which a photo of him with short hair and his school shirt appeared while in the other he came out with long hair with his expressionless face. There was a third photo that was the same as the second but edited making it look feminine as it had makeup and shadows as well as a choker. He saw the comments where Jean tagged him and said he looked like a girl, laughing with an emoji in the comment while Reiner commented "Always diva never indiva, the lost twin of Frieda Reiss."

"Who is Frieda Reiss?" - He asked himself as he saw the amount of comments that were accumulating. It was ridiculous to be compared to a girl but his mother had already warned him that he had small features and would probably look disheveled or very feminine. He did not pay attention to it as he thought that they wanted to discourage him and have him have the same hairstyle all his life. He decided to open the search engine on his cell and find who Frieda Reiss was, which came out as soon as he found the page:

_"Socialite of Paradise and heir to the throne of the same, he had an out-of-wedlock younger sister named Historia Reiss who had been seen alongside Frieda's other younger siblings."_

Now he got the joke, now he understood why they compared him so much to her since she had long hair the same color and blue eyes (his a little more green than hers after all).Suddenly he received a notification by Facebook chat, he closed the other application windows and went straight to that one. Right there a message from Reiner with photos of the high school where the entire section 104 was for the photo of the promotion. The group photo from four years ago shortly. If someone thought he was going to be excited and happy about it, they were definitely wrong,he didn't miss high school at all.

"Nice photo" - he comment on the chat.

"It's from many years ago, I remember as if it were yesterday"- he sent a laughing emoticon.

"You are not going to get nostalgic now, please, there is plenty of snot."

"There were plenty of guys like you back then and nobody told you anything."

"I also have photos of you dear Reiner, do you remember those compromising photos that came out on PornHub a few years ago?"

"Eren don't overdo it, don't make me remember bad times."

"Neither do you, respect my feelings and be careful of what you say."

"What a lady the boy came out to be."

"You deserved it, you were a bastard with me at school."

"I've learned my lesson. Please don't mention it again."

"Okay, it happened to me, but you too. Anyway, I don't want to relive old memories."

"Crybaby".

Reiner sent him a gif of a crying baby while Eren pulled out an emoji of a middle finger. That's how they treated each other for a while, Reiner learned to respect Eren over time thanks to certain tricks that he planned to make him stop bullying him. It was difficult to accept and forgive each other but they came to an agreement and now they got along better; fault of maturity probably.

With Jean, in the words of Eren and for the rest of the acquaintances who lived in that time of high school ; he was appeased when one day he decided that he had enough and incidentally began to go out with Mikasa, something that Eren did not liked . He felt because they were enemies precisely because of her even when Eren saw her as a sister, and that Armin who was his victim, agreed with Jean going out with her friend,meant to have little pride and dignity in his eyes. Today it is already known why Eren ended up alone and now he only related to No Name. 

* * *

Before going out to play , the security mesures were reinforced so that the crowd did not go crazy. Behind the scenes there was an atmosphere of tension and nerves that did not leave anyone indifferent; that began to torment Eren. Why precisely today? Although he got a little nervous before going on stage it was never as much as now and to top it all, the veterans who are supposed to be more used and less nervous, were even worse than he was on their first day playing with them when it was announced that it would be the new guitarist. The howl of the audience did not stop deafening all those who, deep in their roles, ignored the audience until they reached their assigned positions ready to play. Levi took hold of the microphone and as soon as he opened his mouth the music began.

Eren and Hange tuned in to play together for the greater enjoyment of the public and Levi, who like his audience was satisfied with the songs chosen to play that delighted everyone.The concert lasted about two and a half hours but then at Erwin's insistence and order they had to take photos with some fans and sign autographs. Since Eren was new to this he didn't mind doing it for fifteen minutes, which was all that could be done for the band's fatigue and demand to travel the next day, leaving Wellington and the St James Theater behind. 

* * *

Back at the hotel they all gathered their belongings and got ready to take a private jet that would take them to Japan, first in Tokyo at Haneda International Airport where they would settle in a rented house on the outskirts of the city that belonged to Erwin and Marie, his wife. It was a traditional Japanese house with a large garden. It maintained a classic architectural structure but inside it was a bit modernized, as if it were freshly made even though it was approximately ten years old to date. Arriving at the place, Levi and Hange clamored for food while Mike ate doritos to staunch his hunger by dirtying the floor and Eren could only think of sushi or a good piece of meat to ease his cranky stomach.Erwin had foreseen that this would happen so he went along with the rest of the staff to find something to eat for all who agreed that Sushi was the best. 

Meanwhile the others rested to prepare for the concert. During that time they interacted with each other, joking around and watching videos and memes on the phones. 

"Watch this video" - Mike said as he showed Hange and Levi a dog doing tricks with hoops and well-practiced tricks.

"That's all you like to see, pure animal planet videos," Levi replied, looking indifferently at the screen.

"They are adorable," Mike replied with hurt pride as he thought it was in bad taste to make fun of his feelings.

"They're just dogs."

"So what? You spend your time watching videos of people gassing, falling down the stairs and that makes you laugh" - Mike said.

"It's too comical," the black-haired man smiled sardonically.

"It's disgusting, human flatulence is a shameful thing."

"Which makes it more comical," he maintained his reply.

Eren watched videos of skateboarding or snowboarding, he was attracted to extreme sports despite not being a guy with much balance to do such things.

"What kinds of videos do you watch Eren? "- Hange asked curiously to an absorbed young man looking at his phone. Without looking up, he said that he liked watching extreme sports videos. 

"As which?"

"Skateboard and Snowboard."

"Can you do any of them?" Asked Levi.

"I don't . My talent only comes down to playing instruments."

"How sad," the black-haired man said sarcastically.

"I didn't know you were that good at snowboarding," he replied rhetorically, still looking at the phone.

"I'm not an expert, but I have. I won a medal a few years ago."

"Second place, after Erwin," Hange reminded him, teasing Levi as Mike laughed.

"I as a child I won swimming competitions. I hated sports, but my mother saw that it was good for me and my father pushed me to continue until I was thirteen,” Eren interrupted.

"How many medals did you win?" Asked Hange.

"Ten overall."

"You were good then."

"Yes. Swimming doesn't bother me."

" Unlike Levi who can't see the salt water because he's scared."

"Shut up, four eyes."

"It's the truth, he's afraid of water."

"Oh so sad," Eren said, barely raising an eyebrow and then looking back at his phone. 

When Nanaba, Erwin, Oluo, Petra, Erd and Gunter returned with the sushi bags, they all gathered near the table desperate for food, as soon as they opened the packages they were already salivating with hunger. Hange was the most enthusiastic and probably the most impulsive, that Levi had to stop her several times until they put her plate and she devour it like there is no tomorrow. Levi, Eren and Mike sat together to eat, devouring in silence while Erwin, very calm, sent messages to his wife and answered some emails on his cell phone.Eren's pocket rang suddenly as he devoured another piece of sushi, so desperately he put the piece in his mouth and without wiping his hands he took out his cell phone while he saw who it was to swipe and access the call.Suddenly all eyes were focused on Eren as the quiet one barely responded with a "hello" and his jaw tightened silently. Something was wrong because Eren was usually not that quiet and answered a lot if it was his mother who called him because she made him talk a lot against his will.Levi instinctively knew something was wrong when he swiped the phone as he had been learning to read his body language and Eren was usually very relaxed and hardly tense unless it was for something serious. 

"Eren, what's up? "- he said with an authoritative tone while everyone at the table looked worried and he could barely assimilate the call from his brother who made him get up from the table loudly to go to the living room where there was a television turning it on. Behind him were the rest of the band and attendees observing the chaos on the screen with Eren's name in the headline as they ran videos of an alleged man who looked nothing like him, causing vandalism in a shop at Stohess in Paradise in a black shirt whose slogan was censored. 

"What the hell is that?" Levi asked angrily but no more than Eren who was starting to hate the idea of fame just for this.

"Who is that? And why do they put Eren's name if it doesn't have anything to do with him? "- Hange said scrutinizing the screen. Everyone was stunned watching the news while Erwin watched the networks and saw Eren's name on twitter, tumblr, instagram and on all social networks. He immediately had to call the record company, its representatives and verify the source of these videos while Eren stunned shouted that that was not him, that he was not in favor of vandalism and that that dirty imitator would pay them. 

Levi was as angry as he was confused and in another time he would tell the long haired idiot to shut up but since it was about him, his reputation and the band in general he had to do something since nobody likes to see his image unfairly stained.Hange seeing how they both reacted, quickly caught Eren's attention and asked for his cell phone to see where the call was coming from. He saw that said number was not among his contacts so he asked him who it was to which he replied that it was Zeke.

"Your brother tricked you."

"No shit Sherlock! Now I'm upset with him. Either it was him or someone posing as him. I need to write to my parents and locate him."

"Not from your phone, better use one of ours"- Hange took out her phone while Eren typed to call Grisha, he knew that if he contacted his mother first, she would be much more upset. Erwin announced that they would have to cancel the Tokyo concert because of the incident that happened and make an announcement to let fans know that this was not the real Eren. 

"They don't answer," he said trying a fifth time to what Levi suggested he explain by mail or Facebook Messenger.

"There are things that cannot be explained by text, that's not right."

"You have no choice." 

"I know but my father does not answer and I have not received calls for a few minutes, usually for these things he would already be corroborating what the hell happened. He knows me better than anyone and he knows that I am not like that, that boy and I are not remotely alike, that I respect other people's premises, that I am not assaulting girls or breaking into public places like a vulgar thief."

Hange went to talk to Erwin about the concert that was postponed while Levi was thinking about how that damn man was or was not Zeke wanted to screw their lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vlogger: People who talk about topics on Yotube.
> 
> Podcast: Radio or television broadcast that a user can download from the Internet by means of a previous subscription and listen to it both on a computer and on a portable player.  
> Meet & greet: Meet and welcome is an event that all public figures from entertainment to politics do to gain or retain followers.
> 
> Emoticon: is a sequence of ASCII (American Standard CodeforInformationInterchange) characters that originally represented a human face and expressed an emotion. Later, other emoticons with very different meanings were created. Emoticons that express joy or other positive emotions are commonly classified as smileys.
> 
> Socialite is an Anglicism that describes a famous person who also enjoys a superior position within the upper social class; she generally comes from wealthy or aristocratic families and spends much of her time participating in social activities such as charities, private parties, fashion shows, meals, festivals, and other exclusive events.
> 
> Pornhub is the largest porn site in the world. Pornhub started in Montreal as a professional and amateur photography site in 2007. Pornhub also has offices and servers in San Francisco, Houston, New Orleans, and London. In March 2010, Pornhub was bought by Manwin (now known as MindGeek), who owns other porn websites.
> 
> Skateboarding or skateboarding is a sport that consists of sliding on a skateboard and at the same time being able to perform various tricks, most of them lifting the board off the ground, doing figures and pirouettes with it in the air.2 It is practiced with a skateboard or skateboard, flat wooden board bent at the ends that has two axles and four wheels, with two bearings in each of its four wheels, preferably on a flat surface, anywhere it can be rolled, whether on the street or in the streets. skate parks.
> 
> Snowboarding, snowboarding, snowboard, snowboard, snowboard or even snowboard or snowboard, is an extreme winter sport, in which a board is used to slide on a slope covered by snow. The basic equipment to practice it are the aforementioned board, the bindings and the boots. He joined the program for the Winter Olympics in 2015.


	9. Double Agent

He finished counting the bills before closing the deal by shaking the hand of his benefactor while smiling proud of his goal achieved. He turned his back on him, walking down the hill toward the stoplight at the corner, disappearing into the crowd while a blond man with glasses smoked a very calm cigar.He did not count on two girls behind him looking at him listlessly awaiting his next orders.

"I'm glad you arrived. How was the job?"

"Are you seriously asking us that?" - Said a brunette sarcastically looking at him as if she didn't believe her eyes.

"I say it because you had to run for a long time to get here"- he continued smoking.

"We did everything you asked and we're still in trouble."

"It is the price to pay for a bad action."

"You were the one who got us into this, bearded man!" Ymir snapped, raising his voice. Zeke continued to smoke his cigar casually as he turned to face them.

"It's temporary, it won't be serious. I said you can stay where I live and feign insanity until the situation calms down a bit."

"It's easy for you to say," the blonde's icy voice caught his attention."But you wanted this too, right Annie?"

"I do it for the money."

"But also because of him," Zeke provoked.

"I don't."

"Yes you do."

"Think whatever you want."

He wanted to settle the issue once and for all. He hated when people assumed things that were not but for their safety and not to raise suspicions it was better to let them think what they wanted.

"Can we go now?" - Asked brunette impatient .

"Wait, I need one last favor"- they both tensed because whenever Zeke asked them for something they ended up in an odyssey.

"And now what do you want?" - Ymir mentioned annoyed. Adjusting his glasses the blonde looked at them seriously.

"I need one of you to go to Tokyo and give my brother a message."

They both looked at each other before asking what money they would go with. Zeke waited for them to finish laughing to pull a plane ticket out of his right trouser pocket.

"You don't need to use us, you can do it yourself or text your brother," Annie said dryly.

"I would but communications are saturated due to the news and my brother blocked his phone and his social networks are hidden at the moment."

"Ahhh poor thing , that's a consequence of what just happened. Do you expect me to open the door for you when you arrive and let you in just like that?"

"I have a tour to go on tomorrow so I need unemployed people to do me a favor."

"And what is that favor?" Asked Annie. Zeke took out an envelope and simply handed it to Annie for her to take.

"You know I cannot; Berthold is very ill and I have to take care of him."

"You are the only one who can reach Eren in a friendly way without raising suspicions."

Ymir flew into a rage but was silenced by Annie's gaze.

"It is obvious that it has to be me because if it is someone else it will be suspicious and Eren does not have such fond memories of you that we say."

"True," Ymir admitted with a shrug.

"You part tomorrow at 5 in the morning, according to my sources, they will give a press conference to clarify the matter and will continue with the concert shortly. They won't leave Tokyo for a few days."

Annie nodded silently, accepted the envelope in her hands and left without saying anything else. Ymir and Zeke were left alone.

"Why do you want to ruin your brother?" The question did not catch him off guard but he just turned his back to light another cigarette with the tinderbox in his left pocket inhaling a puff.

* * *

His head was spinning despite being in the hot springs outdoors. He thought that he could contact his father but saw that this would not be possible. The news had spread like wildfire a few hours ago and he was thinking of ways to evade haters and stalkers. He deactivated all his social networks because he was afraid of hacking. It frustrated him that his parents could believe what happened in that mall but luckily Hange and Levi had quickly recognized that this guy looked nothing like him because of the features.

Carla must have found out and be calling hysterically if possible but he hadn't heard from her in days since they traveled from New Zealand to Tokyo and that made him uncomfortable. He tried to contact his brother again as soon as he found out what had happened but he could not call back because he crossed it as the wrong number. Either someone was impersonating his brother, perhaps even posing as a bad joke, or someone had kidnapped his brother and was impersonating him. Instinct, however, told him that it was more likely the former, because if it were the latter, he would have already sent the tour overboard with No Name and would have gone looking for his brother.

He did not notice the footsteps of someone approaching until the noise of the water alerted him to a small muscular figure covered in tattoos. He let out a sigh as if nothing ignoring the green eyes that looked at him with extreme curiosity.

"You know, in a past time I would have hit you for looking at me like that."

"I did not see you coming, it is also mutual agreement that we do not like each other."

"Why do you say that?"

"The way we talk."

"I'm like that with everyone, don't think you're special."

"There are other bathrooms inside and at the other end of the house."

"I like to look at the stars"- he said looking at the dark sky.

"Excuses."

Levi said nothing and continued his gaze into space without looking at Eren.

"Erwin already released a statement, we will continue with the tour as always."

"Surely they are going to protest as always to the fact that I was there"

"Not really, true fans know that you were not there, there is no coherence with what happened two days ago as when we were in the mall a few weeks ago."

"Maybe you and Hange notice it but others insist on saying otherwise."

"Have you been reading the reviews? I told you to shut down the nets for something, Hange already told you."

"I know and I did, but the television channels do not stop distributing that news. They think I'm a coward and I have a lot to hide. They look at me suspiciously."

"No wonder."

"I thought you were on my side, thank you very much."

"I am."

"You don't seem to be."

The black-haired man stared at him while the other one kept an impassive face.

"Do you have so little faith in me, Eren?"

The aforementioned wanted to respond sarcastically but given the situation, he preferred to keep quiet before giving a rude response that would further conflict with his relationship with the leader.

"He who is silent grants," he pressed , deciphering his thoughts.

"What matters is that my parents do not believe anything that the news or blogs say on the internet."

"The fans are divided, some believe in you and others do not. Luckily you have fans who adore and support you."

"I find out that I have fans."

"You are not aware of what I see. You are clueless in that area then."

The brunette said nothing, he just gave her an expressionless look.

"Did mice eat your tongue, brat?"

"They ate you in size and I'm not telling you anything," he said in the driest way possible. Levi gave him a hard look, penetrating him with his gaze. If it weren't for the fact that Eren knew how to play the guitar and do it very well, he would be fired.

"Well, the hound can talk. If you had half the skills on the guitar like when you challenge me in a conversation, maybe we'd be on par."

"What do you mean by that? Do you doubt my ability after everything I've done?"

"What you have done up to now, compared to what I have done in these twenty years. Erwin hired you, I did not look for you."

That was a low blow for Eren who added to the circumstances of what was happening right now could not be worse.Levi immediately regretted it but since he was not good with words he could only give encouragement in the only way he knew how.

"Tomorrow you will play as you always do, you will sell more tickets for the rest of the tour. Don't believe what they say, you know what the press is like. Stay by my side and I will help you."

Eren nodded without saying a word. They were silent for a long time, but this time it wasn't a tense and awkward one like other times. This time it was one of mutual consent.The peace was interrupted by Hange who came towards them interrupting the moment. Eren was alerted but Levi was pissed off.

"Hange, what news do you bring?"

"Well, you see, this conflict with the doubles is being resolved. We already made a statement alleging your innocence. Erwin finished these procedures but now your mother is worried that you will have a call in a few minutes. We managed to contact her and your father's phone number."

"Well then I'll get dressed. Ehmm Hange, could you give me privacy to change into clothes?"

"Oh Eren, no problem. You have nothing that I haven't already seen."

"That's not the point but it makes me uncomfortable with you."

"Oh sure of course. Get dressed, your mom will call you in five minutes."

"Good" - he waited for her to retreat in order to get up from the waters and go get dressed but Levi called him. Eren turned around to face him.

"When was the last time you spoke to Zeke?"

"Since that incident where you got hold of him and they had to separate them in the corridor I have not spoken to him again."

Levi was silent, weighing responses as Eren left to get his clothes.

* * *

Carla was next to Grisha drinking tea from the other side of the chamber while Eren found himself on his own in a room away from the hustle and bustle.

"Have you made any new friends, Eren?"

"With the band most of the time and meeting new people. Serving fans and staying away from Zeke at Levi's request to avoid problems."

At the mention of Zeke, Grisha tensed and Carla looked at him concerned. It was enough to mention his half brother's name to make them quiet and that smelled more suspicious than anything to him. 

"Can I know what happened between those two? A lot of other band members are also tense when I bring it up and I just know they don't want to talk about it. I'm surprised about your reaction mom, I thought he was a second child for you."

"Eren I have nothing to do with it, I respect him, I love him and he is your older brother but now you are with Levi and it is better that you stick to being with him since you are part of his band."

According to rumors he had vaguely read, Zeke had stolen a song from No Name some time ago and Levi didn't like that but it had only been one song as far as he could see. Why had Zeke stolen that song? Could it be that they had a disagreement when they were recording together and one day a break up happened and that's why they were like this? Had they ever worked together in life? Were they ever friends? Was Zeke acting suspicious to get to him or Levi?

"Eren, what do you think?" - His mother's voice brought him out of his reverie.

"Nothing mother, I was just thinking about certain things. Besides that, how is Isabel?"

"Ah the little demon" - Grisha said proudly as he smiled amused at Carla's expression.

"Don't call her that darling."

"She's using your cello to learn to play."

"WHAT!" - He roared so loudly that he scared his parents."Tell that brat to stay away from my belongings, I don't want her to ruin my precious cello that cost me so much to save to have it!"

"Calm down Eren, I'm training her for that," said his mother without much success seeing the alteration of her eldest son.

"Eren you are away from home, on a tour, you are famous whether you like it or not and for better or for worse you had to go out. Isabel was lonely and needed a distraction in addition to the dolls and friends. She needed something to help her and I think music is a good escape" - said Grisha while Carla nodded.

"Yes, but not at the expense of my things."

"You haven't practiced cello for two years Eren" - his mother complained- " I wasn't going to let that instrument go to waste so we gave it to Isa and she is learning to play."

Eren growled under his breath, his little sister used to be a demon who destroyed his things as a child so they constantly fought and had to separate them many times, establish rules and private spaces for both of them.

"I will send you videos of her playing honey, you will feel proud of her."

"Whatever you say"

"Don't be like that, Eren! It's your sister."

"Sweetheart, you shouldn't force him to accept something he doesn't want," Grisha said.

"And I won't pay for another cello. Also learning music helps a lot in school performance."

"And you gave her my notes to copy," Eren concluded, not impressed.

"Well but she has to learn from someone." 

Eren looked at her cold and penetrating with nothing to say.

"Don't look at me that way, I'm your mother."

"I do not deny it."

"You better", she turned to the side to greet the aforementioned girl who got between both parents to greet her brother.

"Hi! How are you?"

"Don't ruin the Cello, it costs a fortune to have it."

"I know, I'm not that stupid. I'm only learning to play because I find it interesting."

"I'm interested in you not ruining my instrument, brat. Do you know how much it costs to have a classical instrument made from scratch?"

"Eren, don't be cruel," Grisha said, scolding him.

"Anyway they already know that this impostor is not me and that I am not a vandal breaking into other people's places or destroying private property."

At this, Carla, concerned, interrupted him: "But who could be so madd to get you into that mess?"

"I do not know. An impostor hired to make me look bad and make people hate me."

"Don't say that Eren. In my classes I do not allow them to talk about you, you just remain firm and serene as always and show your talent, that's what people care. Not your personal life, your talent, you are there for that and you do not owe information to anyone."

"True," added Grisha, "do not give a lot of private information about your life to the tabloids or magazines, see that they can misrepresent everything. Just stand by and answer professional questions."

"Good cheer, brother, I believe in you," Isabel said, raising two thumbs and then vanishing from the camera. Eren smiled at the gesture and returned it even though she was gone.

"It's late son, we have to go to sleep because tomorrow we have to work as usual. Be careful and stay close to the band always."

"I agree". He closed the video call with Hange's borrowed tablet and got up from the table where he sat to go out to return it.

* * *

The Tokyo airport was as congested as the air you breathed and that made her extremely uncomfortable. Having to accept that mission without taking into account that she already knew what the message said. She was getting paid very well for all of this and she always needed money but life hadn't been very fair to Annie since she graduated from high school. Despite being an average student with good grades, she did not have the intelligence of Pieck or Armin, her bad girl image in school, being lonely and having few references at part-time work during that time had not benefited her enough to gain influence in other more prestigious jobs that required a college degree.Karate and Taekwondo have always been her forte and it was because of her physical skills that she was given missions for wealthy people that made her a small fortune to survive on her own. At first, living that way made her uncomfortable because she risked her life being a spy, but because she is so stealthy and very sure of herself, she got where she was now.It was a job without fame or glory, but it paid so well that she was able to do without a college degree, although sometimes she felt like going back to school.

She passed in front of a television where she capture her target while the headlines extolled it even more. Eren Jaeger gave an interview claiming his innocence as the crowd gathered in front of the television, surrounding her and causing stress on the blonde. What was she going to say to the boy when she saw him at the theater where they were performing today? Would it be a good idea to give him that message? Annie was not a fool but something told her that Eren was not going to run out of answers and that would only attract more problems. Staying out of what was happening between the two brothers lately was the only thing keeping her safe from being discovered, but because of Zeke she was about to enter territory where she did not belong. She cursed her luck for being so helpful; If it weren't for the money shortage and Berthold's recent accident that ended up ruining her comforts to top it off, she wouldn't be in this mess.

* * *

After the interview, they went back to practice so as not to lose the habit of focusing. Levi, being as disciplined and strict as he was, barely took a three-minute break to drink water and go to the bathroom. He wanted to do his best and was not going to let a mere rumor overshadow the band's talent. All of them without exception were There for their talent and because thanks to the masterful direction of the manager and the label they were giving concerts around the world and he would not miss another opportunity. 

"Eren, before starting Simphony of Destruction, I'm going to ask you to raise the tone of the riff that precedes the first verse of the lyrics because you do it in a chord that makes it sound more serious that is not distinguished from the bass. I need you to make it sound higher to give the intro more emphasis."

"Ok."

"And when you go to the next song, I would like to give you a little focus on how you play with your hands, you said you play right and back because you are ambidextrous. I would like you to exploit that quality as the next song has a long guitar solo that can help that."

"Sure, why not?"

"Well, let's get started then. Everyone to your places!" - He said commanding as a vocalist and leader that it was while Eren positioned himself ready to give his best.


	10. Half Truths

As a child, Eren used to go to classes at the conservatory from a very young age accompanied by his enthusiastic mother who would take the young man by the hand to guide him upstairs to what would be the musical experience of a lifetime.Grisha had intuited that it would be a child like him, crazy about sports and animals, but his surprise was great when he turned out to be disciplined in music thanks to Carla's constant attention to detail, the good lip of the woman to entangle him with the music and the benefits of it.

He was not indifferent in the way he raised his son because he was someone attentive and sweet; perhaps that strength and inner charm that Carla emanated when he saw her singing for the first time in a play was what made him fall in love. However, Grisha found a space to teach him sports and instill in him the love for animals and wildlife since he was a child, in which Carla had no choice because they reached a mutual agreement that to raise a child together they should share time and responsibilities to promote Eren's intuitive and creative mind.

He was raised under the influence of the musical notes that his mother taught him, from the basics such as Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Si to the value of each eighth and semi eighth note as well as scales and the entire repertoire of the musical staff. Carla did this to also help him with his math problems because music also had a number language and the psychologist gave him information on how to increase his intelligence through it.He soon improved grades in school, performed in sports, and interacted with fellow students much better than before.

The psychologist had also influenced them to put him in swimming classes so that he would learn to swim and develop more, at first Eren did not like it at all but his father encouraged him to compete with others and thus become the best. Carla reproached Grisha because the competition to demonstrate superiority brought with it arrogance and pedantry, however, she wanted her son to stand out and be a good student in everything

.At the time when he was 5 years old he was introduced to his older half brother Zeke and together they became inseparable, he taught him everything he knew about rock bands and their genres. From what types of guitar and amplifiers to buy, the musical notes and chords of an acoustic and an electric guitar, bands and styles, etc. They used to walk and play basketball, he taught Eren everything he could because he wanted to start imitating him in everything, even the way he dressed, which Carla looked at in a negative way since they had an age difference and the dress standard rules must be respected.

Although Carla appreciated the fraternal bond between half-siblings, she wanted Zeke to understand that her son was still young and needed to indoctrinate himself more before changing instruments and interests because it had been difficult for him to enter the symphony orchestra and she wanted him to stay playing the symphony orchestra out of discipline. Cello with classical music before radically shifting to a more contemporary genre and instruments.Zeke, understanding that, encouraged him to continue with his cello even though the little one already wanted to learn guitar and was listening to many Guns'n Roses and Slipknot songs by then, so to influence him at Carla's request, he sometimes accompanied him to orchestral practices. Eren appreciated that and that is why when he had to leave for work and study reasons, he did not see him again for a long time, causing irritation and emptiness to the little one.

* * *

He woke up in a bad mood preparing for today's practice as he cursed not being able to remember the dream he had the night before. As he brushed his teeth and washed his face, he could feel fluff crawling between his legs as it purred loudly. He emptied his bladder and then felt the need to evacuate , so he had to sit on the toilet while the cat got into his underwear rolling into a ball as if seeking shelter, sniffing where his parts were gave him more comfort.Levi purposely ignored the cat but was amused that whenever he had to sit up, the cat would want to get between his legs seeking twice the attention than when he was alone in bed. He didn't have his cell phone handy so he paid attention to his honeyed cat. -

"You like the smell of shit, don't you?"

A gas escaped involuntarily from his body but as he was alone he did not give it much importance.Titus looked up, scandalized by the noise, then looked at his master. He let his head be scratch over the ear area causing the cat to purr. Levi enjoyed those little moments for himself although sometimes he missed not having a partner with whom to share moments of intimacy. It had been a long time since he had a steady partner and now he longed for someone's body, a man perhaps. The women were not bad but the strong and flat chest of a man, long hair and beard, thin not so muscular and tall…. He snapped back to reality and thought that he'd better clean up and take a shower because it was getting late and he couldn't go dirty to practice.

After getting ready, he went to the kitchen to investigate what was happening because there was not so much fuss but to his surprise everyone ate in silence from hunger, barely talking and drinking tea. No way, it would be his turn to break the silence. 

"Good morning everyone, I thought that after yesterday's presentation we should be more animated." 

They all looked at him seriously and then smiled jovially. To say that their first opening night had gone well was an understatement. The virtual newspapers and social networks were full of the loud and fast playing of the guitarist who now encompassed the praise of all including the most skeptical. 

"I see you stole the limelight from me," he said with a grimace similar to a smile as he stared at the youngest member with turquoise eyes sipping his tea and shrugging. 

"I didn't do anything except what you asked me to do."

"I know that idiot. But when you listen, you do it very well." 

"We are on the front page and the Eren scandal was forgotten, and the fans of the band denied rumors and do not believe that our guitarist would be capable of doing something monstrous like looting and burning a store"- Hange said, applauding enthusiastically. 

"Those rumors are a thing of the past, yesterday we made history and it seems that more contracts are coming to us"- Mike said sniffing the remains of food that Nanaba did not want to eat.

"Ah no, don't even dream about it" - she raised the plate out of the reach of her big boyfriend. "I'm not going to give you." 

Erwin looked down on his cell phone and announced that after this second day they would go to Kyoto and then go on a tour of Europe so they should start packing suitcases shortly. Levi frowned in irritation when he heard that because that meant that as soon as the concert was over they were leaving for another city and that meant little sleep on the way. 

* * *

Behind the curtain for the second day of the concert, while they changed and reviewed the songs to play, some interviewers wanted to come in to surprise them but the security staff prevented them because they had already given an interview the night before the concert.A mysterious young woman with dark glasses asked Oluo to leave an envelope for the band's guitarist. At first he looked at her as the strangest thing in the world because he had no correspondence and he was not going to give that to anyone. 

"It's from Zeke Jaeguer"- she said still holding the envelope- "for his brother Eren." 

Oluo didn't think twice and grabbed the envelope to put it under his jacket. 

"Well boys I already said it, no more press please and thank you." 

The noise and boo for not letting them see or interview the band members did not wait but Oluo only fulfilled his role. He turned around as tall, burly men blocked the journalists as he took advantage of the time to rummage through what it said in the letter as soon as he was alone in a room without being seen by anyone. He had to be careful because he would have to give it to Eren and see that he noticed that he had snooped in his things could raise suspicions.He carefully unwrapped the envelope carefully and saw that it had multiple sheets enveloping the message; one after another. Pure white pages with no apparent content.

"What the fuck is this? What a waste of time!"

His investigation was interrupted by a knock on a door and Petra's voice; he cursed his luck and yelled at her not to bother him that he was doing something important. She claimed that this was not a bathroom but a study room that Oluo ended up ignoring to see what this whole envelope business was about. Disappointed, he saw that said letter had no content, just white sheets, so he decided to keep everything as if nothing and to wrap the envelope briefly so as not to raise suspicions. When he finished, he opened the door and saw Petra angrily demanding that he go outside.

* * *

After the concert they already had their suitcases ready to go to Kyoto, catching the plane in the early hours of the morning. To say that they ran to get to the private jet on time was an understatement, because if it weren't for the fans and the press following them they would not be delayed. Luckily they managed to please some fans by taking photos and signing autographs to leave in peace. Upon arriving in Kyoto however, already settled in the hotel where they would be staying for the concert, Eren received a call from an unknown number so he decided to answer. 

"Yes."

"Eren, did you get my message?" Zeke's voice from the other side of the hearing aid made him not have a good feeling and instead he contracted so as not to raise his voice. 

"What message? Why didn't you call me as soon as you heard about the store robbery in Paradise? I have tried to contact you if successful and I have even talked to my parents." 

"I don't know what you're talking about, I've been busy with my band and touring."

"Don't lie to me, I know perfectly well that you're up to something because if not, you wouldn't have disappeared so suddenly after that call you made."

"I don't know what you mean, I'm calling you because I care about you." 

"And I want explanations- said the brunette sarcastically- wait a moment, about? Message? I haven't even received a text from you in days."

"A little old school correspondence ."

"I didn't get anything."

"What?"

"I never got a physical letter if that's what you mean."

A small silence echoed between them. 

"Sorry, I didn't want to bother you, I just wanted to know how you were and I wanted to tell you that if you hurry up soon you can go to Hellfest in June and I hope to see you there."

"Zeke What did the letter say?"

"Well, I have to go, we have practice, I'll call you later."

"Zeke!"

He hung up on him abruptly. He looked at the number from where he had called so he dialed again to see if it answered him but it came out as an invalid number. He dialed three more times and was not responding. It was suspicious that he called him before and after the incident without communicating with him or his parents during the incident. He opened his wassap and sent a message to Carla and Grisha to tell them that Zeke had called from an unknown number so he gave them the information so that they could investigate and call him since it was invalid.

He checked the charge of his cell phone and saw that his battery was almost dead so he took out the charger and plugged it into the socket to put it on charge. A knock on the door alerted him so he went to open it and found Erwin and Hange who asked permission to enter. He gave them space. 

"We heard you were talking to Zeke," Hange began very seriously.

"Listening to other people's conversations is rude"- he pierce her with his eyes because he felt observed and something told him that they had not come with the intention of chatting.

"We do not doubt it but we need you to trust us. We must ask you a favor"- Erwin began.

"What favor? What are you talking about?"

"We know that you are Zeke's brother and that someone set you up with that stunt double playing dirty."

"It's obvious, because I didn't plan that." 

"We know, Eren. What we are going to ask you is very simple: every time your brother tries to talk to you, let us know. We had previously asked you to stay away from him out of respect for Levi but now this is taking a new turn and we don't want it to get out of control." 

"It's already gone. The damage is done and I see some haters yelling at me. What difference does it make?"

Hange looked at Erwin significantly and then looked at the brunette and he knew that some important information was hiding.

"We owe you an explanation," Hange began as Erwin looked at her with warning.

"What are they hiding?"

"You should know a truth, at least partial on our part so as not to confuse you more."

"Hange, you don't need to go into detail."

"It's required!"

"It is not."

"Let's see guys," he interrupted when he saw the older ones arguing, "first Zeke's rivalry with Levi and now the letter he sent me that I didn't receive from him, a physical letter." Either of you have that letter or are you hiding something from me. How bad does this truth have to be that they don't want to tell me and yet they want me to get away from Zeke?"

Another awkward silence and he was already blowing smoke from his nose.

"What did the letter say?" Erwin asked worriedly. 

"I do not know. I should get my hands on it and read it first as it is me to whom such correspondence goes."

"You were very close to your brother, right Eren?" Hange asked confused. 

"Sometimes; he was older than me but he had his plans and life made, I was just a kid. He visited me from time to time. Why the question?"

"There was a time when Zeke and Levi believe it or not, they were friends and collaborated together. In truth there was, but something happened that they ended up moving away due to ideologies and ego. They studied at the same school and university in their time but perhaps due to an exaggerated fanaticism and mutual envy they did not last as a band and they separated."

He did not believe Hange's words, if at first glance Levi and his brother were as opposite as day and night and seeing that these two were great friends definitely did not fit in the boy's head.

"Just as you hear it; They were friends, they got together to make a band and yet that didn't work out due to ideologies and popularity. Levi attracted more masses and that in the background caused a clash between the two"- complement Erwin.

"And what do I have to do with this? Why did they choose me if they knew I was Zeke's half brother?

"Because of your talent, Eren. Not because of your ideology or how you dress; We know that you play instruments and that you do it very well, but it was your versatility that made us notice you."

"Sounds nice to be real. Tell the truth."

"You're hearing it," Erwin interrupted, "really the fact that you were the son of an opera singer like Carla Magnolia and that you had studies in the orchestra was what led us to hire you."

"You mean, by the grace and influence of my mother," he said sarcastically.

"It's not a lie! We really wanted someone who wasn't just limited to guitar and bass. We like how you play and we believe that in the future we could include pieces of classical music in our concerts using you playing the cello."

"No Name is a HardRock band, if you used the cello or violin it would become more symphonic than rock itself; it would lose its touch unless you started playing in heavier tones to complement it with symphonic and then it would be symphonic metal."

"The point here is that we are taking care that you do not fall into Zeke's trap. That mysterious call is likely to have been the one who planned everything."

"Now we need to know the other side of the story, Zeke's version."

"You will hardly get it but at least believe in us please. We do not want to betray you, much less harm you. It is not in our plans that you leave the band so soon." 

He scrutinized them both without knowing what to say. He wanted to believe in them but a part of him told him that he should seek other answers and not just stay with the ones he had.He heard a loud knock on the door and went to see who it was. Levi was with a cigarette in hand and made his way without even waiting for an invitation, sitting on the bed where Eren was supposed to sleep.

"I see we have a group meeting. Can you tell me what are you talking about?"

Hange and Erwin looked at him resigned but Eren just crossed his arms waiting for them to explain what they had just said to him. It would be a long rainy afternoon full of drama and complications. For some reason he saw it coming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hellfest: festival in France that takes place in June. Later I will talk about it in other chapters.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoy my vision I will keep you updated.


End file.
